Melodic Rhapsody
by Rensui
Summary: AU. The D.Gray-Man Trio are in high school, the student council, and whats this about a band? Allen is a new transfer student, on a scholarship. His fate is about to intertwine with Kanda's. Yullen.
1. First Meeting

Allen was just transferring into this new school, "Black Order High School". It was somewhat of a prestigious high school, Allen was there as a scholarship student. The 15-year-old boy had finally been given lease to do what he wanted to do.. Away from Cross, away from his debts, and away from the lifestyle that he had lived with the older man. Allen sighed, just thinking about his childhood wasted with that hoodlum.

He lived in a small, run-down apartment that most people didn't think of inhabiting. However, Allen wasn't picky -- as long as he had a place to sleep and a roof under his head, he was fine. To make matters worse, he supported himself with two part time jobs. One was at a gas station, where the owner was nice enough to let Allen work underage. His other job was delivering parcels, or packages.

He worked anywhere from 30 to 60 hours a week. It mostly fell towards the latter though, working full hours just to support his rent, tuition, and living expenses.

It was all worth it though, to be away from his adopted father, Cross. He shivered, teeth chattering at the mere thought of living with his "shishou" again.

"..Are you okay?" A feminine voice interrupted his thoughts, Allen looking up to see a girl around the same age as him -- her hair tied up in pigtails that trailed behind her. Her name was Lenalee, if he remembered correctly?

"Y-yes." Allen said, momentarily having forgotten where he was at the moment. Lenalee, who had identified herself to be the student council secretary was guiding him around school.

"Yo, Lenalee! Almost done yet?" A red haired male with a slim figure appeared from behind them, slinging an arm around both Allen and Lenalee. "Not yet." Lenalee said with a small smile. "Eh?" Allen asked simultaneously, wondering who this person was. Obviously a friend of Lenalee's..?

"Nice to meetcha!" The male addressed to Allen, with a crooked grin. "I'm Lavi." He held out a hand to Allen, Allen looking at the strange figure for another moment or two. Well, it wouldn't hurt.. Allen thought with a smile of his own as he shook Lavi's hand.

"I'm the student council prez, so you must obey me at all times!" This chocking statement from Lavi was accompanied by an "Owwwwww."

"Who's exactly the student council president?" A voice snarled from behind Lavi. Allen was startled to see someone else having approached them. Everyone was coming out of the woodworks today, weren't they?

But.. He couldn't help staring at the last male. His slim yet decidedly male body.. With long tresses of dark blue hair trailing behind him in a ponytail. He left his uniform unkempt, his collar left open to hint at the muscular ridge of his chest. "Baka." The mysterious male said with a tch.

"Ma~~ Yuu. I can't believe you hit me." Lavi complained, finally breaking Allen's thoughts. He was hiding behind Lenalee though, Allen noticed. "Well, some stupid prez doesn't do his work." Kanda said in a dangerously low voice that threatened mutilation of the usagi rabbit. He turned around, only to see Allen. Now, Allen was face to face with this person named.. Yuu?

"And who might you be?" Kanda examined the younger boy for a mere second, apparently having decided that he wasn't worth his time.

Allen felt a tick go off in his jaw, but answered with "My name is Allen.". The Japanese male merely gave him another glance, he either didn't bother or didn't care enough to pursue the matter.

"Anyways. Come on Lavi, we've got a gig." The older male didn't seem too happy about it, stomping off.

"Gig?" Allen questioned, Lavi looking back at Lenalee and Allen. "Hey! Sorry for this but I gotta go." Lavi put his hands together, bowing his head down apologetically. He was in too much a rush to stay though, running after Kanda, who was disappearing down the hallway.

Both Lenalee and Allen stared after the two males for a couple of seconds, before Lenalee turned to the British male. "It's not common news yet, but both Lavi and Kanda are part of a well-known band."

"Band and student council?" Allen commented with a slightly admirable tone. "Well, I've been taking care of things a few times now and again." Lenalee said, her tone slightly rueful. She was the student council secretary after all.

"Do you help them with band too?" Lenalee debated the question.. "Let's go, Allen." She resumed her walking, and the tour of the school she hadn't gotten to finish. "O-oh. Right!" Allen stumbled, following after her. The question was lost in the midst of directions, as Lenalee pointed out the cafeteria, the buildings for certain ranks, and other various things about the school that was important.

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"What d'you think of the new kid?" Lai asked abruptly, in their dressing room. "Mm?" Kanda turned around, in the process of tying his lock locks into a ponytail.

"Y'know! Allen!" Lavi's words were exasperated, wondering if Kanda even remembered. "Don't babble on about trivial things." Kanda responded curtly, picking up his guitar. They would be making a performance at a local club in a few minutes.. All Lavi and Kanda should focus on was doing their part of the music.

For what seemed to be the millionth time, Kanda told himself that it would be over soon. Except for the fact, where he had to endure screeching fans who seemed to portray their endless love for the two band members. Tch. Performing music had turned from a troublesome habit into a unpleasant never ending dream for the samurai.


	2. Rising Trouble

"Psst. Did you hear about that new kid? He has .."

"….white hair"

"and that funky scar….?"

"..and don't forget that mutated hand. This guy in my class said he saw it when they were changing in PE."

The entire cafeteria was in a buzz about him, Allen observed, standing in line for food. Inwardly, he sighed. What else had he expected? People, especially normal people were scared by what they didn't know. To them, Allen was something different. And because of that reason, for most of his life, he had taken great pains to hide most of his features. Not that it did much good, he thought defeatedly.

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Allen sighed behind the counter of the gas station, that he worked at. A week had passed since his first day at school, becoming somewhat adjusted to his new lifestyle. School life was going all right. If you liked solitude. Allen wasn't having a particularly hard time with the assignments, and the tuition had been paid for. It was paid for this year, at least.

When he finished his night shift, he would have to his homework later. That would take until .. 1, at night? He couldn't afford to NOT do homework, considering he was there on a scholarship already. Between losing sleep, assignments, and long hours, it was tiring. However, it was much easier without the stress that Cross inflicted on him.

"Hey! Allen, are you all right?" A co-worker called out, snapping Allen back to attention. "Y-yes." Allen answered back, forcing a smile back onto his face. He was at work, this was not time to be dazing off. Mentally reprimanding himself, he put an unusually cheerful tone at the next customers that walked in. "How may I help you toda…?" The white haired teenager was baffled at his next set of customers.

"Ehhh? Allen?" A certain red-head asked, confused by his kohai's presence at the gas station. "Hi ..Lavi?" Allen said hesitantly, switching over to business by continuing with "$20 of gas? Will that be all?" Taking the bill in Lavi's hand, he opened the cashier, and pressed several of the controls behind the cashier.

"B-but don't you work as a delivery person?" Lavi finally composed himself to ask. "I do that too…." Allen said, wondering how to explain this. Lavi knew about that side job too, since Allen had delivered a package to him in the recent week. He scratched the side of his face, with an anxious look.

"Shove it, Usagi." A familiar, and surly voice came from behind Lavi. "The moyashi works several jobs. Quit looking as if it's the end of the world."

"B-but.. Two jobs? Yuu, one job is a lot already! Half our grade doesn't even work, and they're the ones that blow their money!" Lavi tried to reason. He couldn't even fathom working long, hard, and tedious hours, considering his parents had given him a nice condo. They also provided any money he might need, and could be considered a "rich boy."

"Are you in some sort of trouble?" Lavi asked worriedly, making Allen wonder, what had he done to deserve that kindness? He had met Lavi several more times in school, passing him by in the hallways. Somehow, Lenalee and Lavi had taken it into their head that Allen was their friend, taking more care than they should to greet him and make sure that he was adjusted.

"Not at all." Allen was quick to reassure the older male. Even if he was, he would never say anything to anyone else. "I live by myself, so I just need a bit more money." At his explanation, there was a 'tch', as if Kanda didn't believe him. Allen ignored the Japanese teenager.

"C'mon Usagi, your car isn't out there to take up space." Kanda grabbed the rabbit by his collar, dragging him outside. Lavi sputtered, obviously not finished with his conversation. But heck, did Kanda care? No.

Allen stared after them, a seed of amusement in his mind. He was glad that neither Lavi nor Lenalee knew about his third job.. Which consisted of temporary work, that cropped up at any place or any time. So far, he had no problems.

"Hey, was it just me.. Or did Allen look pale?" Lavi asked, as he leaned in to get into the driver's seat. "I don't know, and I don't care." Kanda said curtly, staring out the window. He could care less about the bean sprout and what he did, as long as it didn't interfere with Kanda's activities.

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Allen walked to his locker, exchanging his books for another class. His next class was math.. If he remembered correctly.

Freak! GO BACK TO WHERE YOU CAME FROM. GET LOST. GO BACK TO YOUR OWN FREAKSHOW. Several of the notes listed. Several other notes had the same basic message, and Allen sighed. It had progressed from gossip, to harassment. What would be next? "Allen-kun?" A feminine voice came from behind him, Allen scrambling to turn around, hiding the notes.

"What was that?" Lenalee asked, tilting her head. "Nothing, nothing!" Allen hastened to assure her, hoping that the white paper wasn't visible from his hand. "Just some .. Ah … notes, I needed from a classmate." Lenalee narrowed her eyes in suspicion, knowing that Allen had some unusual traits. His scarred eye for example, and the oddly colored arm. They were traits that many people disliked, many whom feared things that were different from themselves.

Letting it slide for now, she began to pull on his arm towards a different direction. "Hey, Lenalee! I have math next." Allen protested, not understanding the Chinese girl's intentions. "Your excused." Lenalee said, with a smile.

Leading him to what Allen recognized as the student council's room, Lenalee was leading him out as Lavi was leaving. "Yo' Allen." Lavi waved non-committedly. He pointed with his thumb into the student council room, exchanging a look with Lenalee.

"W-what?" Allen asked, swiveling his head to look at both accomplices. Instead of receiving an answer, he was shoved into the room, with the familiar click of a lock behind him. He was sitting on the floor, quite undignified, only left to stare at the room, baffled. The room had a luxurious sofa in the middle, with a coffee table that was designed for relaxing. It had hints of student council activity, such as a desk in the corner with a stack of papers, and a gray filing cabinet.

"Have some cookies, and sleep!" A note in the middle of the table said, in a scrawled handwriting that could only be Lavi's. He looked ruefully at the door, realizing that all Lenalee and Lavi wanted to do was to have him sleep? He was locked in anyways.

All he had to do was flop down onto the couch, the soft material bunching around him. It only took a few seconds for him to fall asleep, since he was pretty much exhausted.

And that was the scene, Kanda walked into. Unlocking the student council room, he was greeted with an odd sight. The bean sprout was sleeping, in the student council room? He raised an eyebrow, and turned away with a scoff.

He stacked another pile of papers onto the desk, probably papers asking for permission for a club or something of the sorts. They were for Lavi and Lenalee to review, as secretary and president of the student council.

He flopped down into a chair, near the sofa, watching the bean sprout with a glancing stare. However… the fact that Allen hadn't noticed his presence meant that he was really into it. Hs fingers reached out, rubbing a couple strands of white hair between his fingers. So it was real, huh? Moyashi was quite pale too… the back of his fingers caressing the scar that ran down his eye.

.. What was he doing? Molesting Moyashi in his sleep? Kanda pulled away, with a disgusted sound at himself. But a paper, falling out of Allen's jacket caught his eye. Picking it up, with no sense of secrecy or guilt here, he unfolded it only to see;

"Money

Rent - $250

Food - $100

School - $150

Cross's Debt - $150,000 "

What the fuck? What was this Cross's debt? That was certainly not in line with someone who lived by themselves. With a scowl, Kanda stood up to retrieve Allen's file from the cabinet. Skimming down the file, until his finger reached Allen's history. Cross had apparently been his guardian… listing that,

_Cross appears to have trouble with his money management skills. However, Allen has shown an increasing resolve to further his education, leading us to believe that Allen Walker will prove to be a good addition to our school._

So..this Cross was basically so deep in debt, that his kid had to pay for his debts? Kanda looked at the paper, incredulously.

"Mmm..?" Allen's sleepy voice interrupted the silence, sitting up. He was rubbing his eyes sleepily, seeing a blurred form out of the corner of his eye. "K.. Kanda?" Allen asked, his eyes widening.

"You're awake, Beansprout." Kanda said curtly, dropping the file back into the cabinet. However, Allen glimpsed the note in Kanda's hand, immediately standing up. "Give that back!" Allen jumped to take the note back, Kanda didn't look mildly worried in the least. Instead, he held the note out of Allen's reach, catching Allen with his other hand.

Allen was cradled in the Japanese man's arms, staring in shock with his gray eyes. "What did you see?" Allen asked, suspiciously.

"Nothing. I don't care about your business anyways." Kanda tucked in the note into Allen's jacket, his hand brushing against Allen's bare throat. Instead of retreating though, his fingers grasped Allen's face to turn him towards the samurai's face. "You still have some bags under your eyes. Convince that stupid rabbit you're okay, so I don't have to see your childish face when I'm working."

Without another word, he turned on his heels and left. Allen was left in the room, staring after the older man. If he didn't care, why the hell was he snooping at Allen's stuff anyways? And that comment. Kanda riled him without even trying! The boy was left fuming, as he gathered his stuff to leave.

Closing the door behind him, he checked his cell phone. He could still make it in time for 6th period, Tyki-Mikk's class. Trudging along, he realized that it would be a long period.

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It was after school now, classes were released a while ago. Kanda was still there though, as the shadow leader of the Kendo club. "Ma~ Yu!" Kanda heard that annoying usagi call out to him, in the process of tying his hair, just finishing from kendo practice. "I saw you coming out of the student council room. Didja see Allen?"

"Hard not to, considering the sofa is in the middle of the freaking room." Kanda remarked sarcastically. "Oo! Did he look cute?" Lavi asked, excitedly. "Me and Lenalee thought so!"

Kanda raised another eyebrow at that.. They were stalking the poor bean sprout now? "Don't look at us like that." Lavi seemed to read his mind. "We just wanted to make sure Allen slept. That kid looks like he went through a grinder, or something." Lavi sighed here, still not able to believe that Allen held down a scholarship and 2 jobs.

"D'you think we should visit him? Y'know, at his house?" Kanda turned away, not understanding why Lavi continuously brought him up. "Do whatever you want. Just don't count me in." He left without saying any more like always.

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"Why don't you get our of our school?" An extremely obese kid, with a muggy complexion and dirty blonde hair addressed to Allen. His name was Marco, if Allen remembered correctly.

Allen wiped his mouth of blood with the back of his gloved hand. How had this happened? Right.. Sometime after school, some guy had asked him to assist with some furniture or something that he needed to move. Allen's natural nature had him saying yes, only to follow the other male into the back of the school. It was a deserted area, perfect for what an assault or a lynching. It was too late, when he actually recognized their intentions. Instead, he had been taken by surprise, when something hard hit him in the back of his head. And rudely awoken by a bucket of water dumped onto his face and uniform.

Allen couldn't say that it was a surprise, considering his previous experiences at his old schools. However, he wasn't expecting it so soon.

"Say something, transfer kid." Another male yelled, grabbing Allen by the collar. "Would it change your mind, if I did?" Allen asked, knowing that anything he said in this situation wouldn't help. Their intent was to harm him, and no argument or placating would change their minds. He was released, but not without another punch to his stomach.

"Agh." He coughed out some blood, clutching at his stomach. Another male, with no honor, kicked him _hard. He was lying on the ground at this point, feeling pain resonate throughout his whole body._

"We'll have to teach you some proper manners, kid. Lets go, boys." Marco, apparently their leader, said with an oily smirk. Allen glimpsed him again through hazed gray eyes. Marco was weak.. And he enjoyed picking on the weak.

"..Oi. What's happening here?" A voice said from behind the commotion, the strong tone ringing throughout the baffled silence. The speaker was obviously, pissed, annoyed, and aggravated.


	3. A Thousand Words

I don't really know how to maneuver this website (until just now T__T;;; ) , so I ended up deleting a chapter instead of replacing it. OLD CHAPTER 3, I DIDN'T KNOW IT WAS ALL BOLDED. fixed ok!

Sorry for the new chapter notification when it's really not. Sorry!

Please rate and review~

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"Tch. So troublesome." The samurai assessed the situation in a moment, with the bean sprout lying on the ground, and the idiots that were above him. One hand aimed for the throat of Marco, who had probably engineered the whole thing. He pinned him to the wall, his fingers steadily increasing their grip until the male's complexion veered towards a sickly purple.

"Wha.. How?" Kanda's speed was unmatched, and in the blink of an eye.. Their leader had been apprehended. "You're the …!" The male's realization was cut short, as Kanda's other hand unsheathed his wooden kendo sword, the murderous glare in Kanda's eyes obvious. But he wasn't going to let any of these culprits off, taking their moment of shock as an opportunity. Without further notice, both men fell unconscious, Kanda's sword having pinpointed them in places that weren't vital. However, that didn't mean that they wouldn't be in pain when they woke up. On the contrary, Kanda was going to introduce them to a world of horrific pain.

"Can you stand?" Kanda asked shortly, putting his sword back. Allen's fingers twitched, his palms trying to lift his body up. He fell down again, when a wrenching pain seared across his body. His body couldn't withstand it, the boy falling into a faint.

"Useless as always." Kanda hoisted the teenager over his shoulder, ignoring Allen's drenched form, blood, or any injuries that he might have had. The nurse's office was closed at this hour, so the only option was left was the moyashi's house or Kanda's house. The moyashi's house was out of the question, considering that Kanda didn't even know where it was.

With an annoyed sigh, he tossed Allen into the back of his car. "Uh-- uh.. Master?" The chauffeur was quick to question the presence of an unknown, battered boy. "Just go home." Kanda said curtly, leaving no room for explanations. "R-right away!" The chaffeur climbed into his seat, too scared to ask his master anything else.

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"Nnh..?" Allen woke up, staring above at a beige ceiling. Sitting up, a sharp pain streaked through his chest, forcing him back down. "Where am I?" The British male asked, even as his eyes narrowed in pain.

"My house." The all-too familiar voice answered, the owner of the voice stood in the doorway. "Kanda?" Allen questioned… suddenly remembering everything that happened to him. He vaguely remembered Kanda coming in at the last minute, but he couldn't recall anything after that. Did he faint?

But gradually, he became aware of the clean clothes, and his bandaged form. One hand lifted to examine the material of the shirt, dressed in a white dress shirt that was too big for him. "Did you..?" The words were left unspoken, Kanda didn't bother to answer.

"What the hell were you doing? Why didn't you fight back?" Granted, Kanda wasn't t here for the entire thing, but that much was obvious. "Well." Allen looked away, knowing that someone would have asked him that eventually. "It means they get hurt, right? I'd rather be hurt, than to hurt others." That philosophy was pathetic, but Allen's nature didn't allow for anything else.

"Baka." Kanda's scornful voice cut him to the quick, Allen replied with a weak laugh. "Yeah. Well…" He trailed off.. "Thank you." It was a long time, since Allen had been taken care of by someone else. Only his adopted father, Mana had done that… Cross didn't care. After that, Allen had always taken care of himself.

Catching a glimpse of the clock, behind Kanda, Allen's eyes widened. "I have to go." He said, tugging off the blankets in a hurry. He scrambled out of the bed, looking vaguely disturbed when he found that it was difficult to stand. One hand hung onto the pillar for support, while the other hand held his open collar together.

"What the fuck are you doing, Moyashi?" Kanda demanded, looking more pissed off. "I have to go to work." Allen hissed in return, too anxious to be polite. If he was late, the boss would have even more reason for firing him. His boss, Leverrier seemed to hold something against Allen, Allen never had a clue why. Was it because of his white hair, and his scarred eye? Or was it his hand? Either way, Allen was screwed, if he came late.

"Wait up." Kanda held onto Allen's arm, Allen wincing at the tight grip. But he jerked away, steadying himself to stand upright. "I'll return this as soon as I can." He said, fumbling around with the buttons.

"I said _wait_, Moyashi." Kanda said more forcefully this time, dragging off the British youth to his garage. Somewhere in the back of his head, Allen was marveling at Kanda's wealth. But he was too distracted to fully concentrate on that, fretting about the problem of his work.

"Get on." Kanda tossed a helmet to Allen, which Allen caught reflexively. "Huh?" Allen said, his confusing evident in his face. Kanda jerked his head towards his motorcycle. "If you're stupid enough to go to work, you might as well have a ride."

Allen blinked, wondering why Kanda was ..nice to him? "Close your mouth, and get on." Kanda's hand snaked out, pulling the bean sprout onto the seat. Without even so much as a 'hang on', he sped up on the motorcycle, turning out onto the road.

"G…ah!" Allen's arms hugged the Japanese man by his waist, having almost fallen off the motorcycle. He cautiously, mind you, VERY cautiously managed to slip on the helmet. Kanda was nothing, if a confident driver who maneuvered the roads like a pro Or a madman. Whichever you preferred to say. Before he knew it.. And before his shift, Allen realized thankfully, they had made it to the gas station.

"Thank you." Allen said gratefully.. Even if it was to a swordsman who had a stick shoved up his ass, stepping off. He returned the helmet back to Kanda, who hung it miscellaneously on one of his handles. "Next time, take care of yourself." Kanda looked away, with his jaw set in place.

"I will." Allen made sure to reply, grudgingly.

Kanda stared at Allen, remaining there even after he disappeared into the building. He felt a faint feeling of annoyance tugging at him. Why had Moyashi's hands felt so good around his waist? He could've been a girl, with the lack of any muscles or muscular physique. Kanda quirked a grin, ironically, wondering how the bean sprout would act if Kanda told him that he was better off as a girl. But he pushed the annoying thoughts of the bean sprout out of his head -- he had a gig with Lavi coming up later tonight.

"Oi. Where were you, Yuu?" Lavi asked, impatiently, waiting for Yuu by sitting on a chair in the dressing room. "Dropping off a bean sprout." Kanda replied, somewhat amused now. "Eh?" Lavi said, clearly confused. Had Kanda finally gone crazy?

He guessed he had, since Kanda didn't even look pissed off. The Japanese teenager _always had a perpetual scowl. _


	4. Hurry Up & Save Me

Reviewing makes me super-happy guys ;; 3 so please review if you like/favorite this story.

.. and review gets you stories faster, so review for that reason if you don't want to make me happy D

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A week had passed since that incident. Oddly enough, Allen didn't hear much rumors about himself anymore nor had he had any trouble with Marco and his group.. He tried to ponder why, but he had come to no conclusion.

And he had met Lavi and Lenalee in the hallways, who were always eager to chat with him. They invited him into their group with open arms, but Allen could never take them up on their opportunities. He was always busy between a job, homework, or something and other. He felt melancholy, and depressed whenever he thought about how many times that he had said no to them.

"Hey, Allen." A boy with sandy brown hair turned around to face him. His name was Narein? Allen was getting along with him famously. And Allen liked him, especially for his hard working devotion. He was pursuing a medical career, even this early in life, and understood Allen's issues with the scholarship. "Is it true that the vice president saved you?" There was no malicious intent, just curiosity.

"Eh?" Allen's brow furrowed in. "Y'mean, Kanda?" The male nodded, continuing with, "He's called the devil vp. He'll kill you without another thought." Narein grinned at him, shoving his books into bag. "Rumor has it that since he's taken up the post of vice-president, he's taken out the gangs at this school one-handedly."

"….." Suddenly, Allen recalled that the group that had accosted him had been out for the entire week. Did Kanda.. No, he wouldn't. "Apparently, he sent Marco's group into the hospital." Narein had no idea, that he was providing Allen with vital information, as Allen tried to avoid his gaze. "Oh.. Really?" He asked, weakly.

There wasn't a connection between Kanda, Allen, Marco's apparent hospital stay, and the sudden decrease in rumors, was there? He didn't waste any time, picking up his bag. He had an apologetic look, as he spoke to Narein, "Sorry, but I have to do something." Narein waved him off, with an unrepentant grin. "Go ahead. I know how little time you have, Allen." And he did, not offended at Allen's sudden leave.

"Kanda!" The door burst open, slamming against the wall behind it. The british student was heaving a little from his rush there. Lavi and Lenalee looked curiously at their underclassman, exchanging looks. "We'll leave you alone then, Allen." Lenalee said diplomatically, dragging Lavi out of the room. "No fair, lena-lady!" Lavi was heard protesting, wanting to stay behind for the action.

Allen was left staring at the Japanese male, who was leaning against a wall. He had been initially filing papers, but had placed them down because of Allen's entrance. "What, Moyashi? Are people still bothering you?" That question was all Allen needed to answer his questions.

"Marco.. Rumors.. You..!" The explanation came in a incoherent way, that anyone else would have been hard pressed to understand. However, Kanda did.

"I didn't do it for you. I did it because I needed to vent out some frustration." Kanda scowled, looking less than pleased. "It just so happened that it cleared up your problems. So shut up, and accept it." Allen narrowed his eyes, only half-accepting that explanation. If he didn't know better, he would think that Lavi and Lenalee had planned this. But none of them knew about the problems Allen had.. Or did they?

"Fine." He said reluctantly.. His slight frame wavering slightly in the doorway. He felt a wave of nausea wash over him, something that he had been suppressing for the entire week. Allen thought it would disappear in a couple of days, but so far, it hadn't. He was guessing that the run had brought it back, one hand clutching at his stomach. "Oi-- OI, MOYASHI." Kanda's voice.. It sounded so far. The ceiling was spiraling down into an abyss of black. Allen fainted.

Kanda was quick to catch the Allen's body, having quick reflexes. The body cradled in his arms was flushed, his cheeks tinted with red, and Allen's breathing was heavy. Kanda thought that it was just from running, except that Allen's body was feverishly hot. Kanda remembered, that Allen's body had been like this when he found the younger boy bullied by Marco's group. But surely, Allen would have taken care of himself?

"Shit."

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Allen awoke to a familiar ceiling. Apparently his own? What happened? Allen couldn't remember.. He had been talking to Kanda about something.. Oh yeah, Marco… and then everything had gone black.

The sound of rustling caught his attention, Allen wondering in his confusion, if somehow he lived with someone else. As his senses cleared, a figure emerged in his haze. "Moyashi." The tantalizing familiar voice said, Allen feeling annoyance well up at it. It seemed like natural instinct.

His head was throbbing with a headache as if he had a hang-over, a cloud of haze settling over his vision. For some reason, nothing could penetrate it, as Allen reached out for the person standing above him.

Kanda was hovering over the younger boy, having settled him into his bed. "I had to take you to your house." Kanda had been faced with a dilemma. He couldn't take Allen to his house, considering that Lavi had decided to come over later that day. Kanda didn't want that baka-usagi to jump to any conclusions, especially some hare-brained idea of Kanda and Allen together. And the health room was closed earlier that day.

Kanda had no idea how to take care of a sick person. He figured that he'd drop Allen off at his house, and there would be somebody else to take him off his hands. Needless to say, he hadn't expected Allen to have no emergency information, or nobody to take care of him. "I told you I lived alone." Allen said faintly, his head continuing to throb. Kanda snorted, how had he conveniently forgot that fact?

And there was something else that bothered him. Allen had nothing in his apartment. Except for bare necessities like a toothbrush, toothpaste, or bed, his apartment was nearly empty. Kanda wasn't used to that, given his luxurious life of having basically everything. "Anyways, Moyashi. I brought some stuff for you. Take it, or I'll shove it down your throat." He held up a plastic bag, which contained three different types of flu and cold medicine (What was the difference between the two anyways? And why did the store have to have 10 different brands? As far as Kanda was concerned, it was common sense to put only one, not to frigging confuse the customer!) and a bunch of oranges. "The idiot at the store recommended it." He sounded pissed off, Allen thought humorously.

He tried to imagine the older male at a store, asking a salesperson for help, and pondering medicine. It brought a faint smile to his lips, Kanda catching it. "What are you smiling about?" He asked, not finding it very funny, and shoved Allen (not too gently) back down onto his bed as he tried to get up.

Handing over a plastic cup of water, and some pills, Kanda took his seat back on the ground. Allen took the medicine with a sliver of guilt -- he couldn't afford to pay back Kanda for this. "I-I.." He began to say, but the look on Kanda's face threatened pure mutilation that he should take the medicine before doing anything else.

When Allen finished, Kanda moved onto his next piece of news. "Stay there. I called Lenalee to help take care of you." Allen pulled the blankets over his form.. But at Kanda's words, held out a hand to tug at the end of Kanda's shirt, preventing him from leaving.

"What?" The annoyed voice asked, expecting an answer.

The younger male blinked dumbly, as if he didn't quite realize what he had done. But the heavy silence that expected an action, Allen fumbled around, scrounging around for an answer. Something that sounded plausible. "I-If Lenalee saw this, I'd never hear the end of it." He managed to say, "So.. " He trailed off, leaving the words unspoken.

"Tch. I get it." Kanda's brows furrowed in, taking out his phone to rapidly text a reply to Lenalee. Probably something along the lines of Allen feeling better, so she didn't have to come to take care of him anymore.

If Allen had been anyone else.. Kanda would have left by now. Anyone else normally consisted of normal people -- people that had friends, or family to take care of them. But Allen seemed to have neither, especially not in abundance. And if Allen died, well, Kanda's consciousness was better off sleeping when he didn't leave some kid to die. He surveyed the apartment once more with a disgusted glance.. It was hardly a place fit for a cockroach to live in. It was cold in winter, and hot in summer. When the rainy season came, there would no doubt be leaks. And the cabinets were termite infested! In fact, Kanda wouldn't have put it past the bed frame to break under the moyashi's weight -- and not that much weight either.

"I get it. I'll stay for a while, until you fall asleep." Tch. As if he had a freaking choice? He took a seat, his high ponytail jerked with a defiant movement.

Allen looked relieved, trying to stay awake to thank the older man, but the words died on his lips as he futilely struggled against sleep. "Thanks…" His eyelashes fluttered closed, Allen quickly falling into a deep sleep.

Sometime later, he was jerked awake by a scream, followed by swearing. " F--- SHIT -- MOYASHI. IT'S ALL FUCKING COLD WATER." Had he forgotten to remind Kanda of that?

… well, the older man needed to cool down anyways, Allen hiding a malicious smile behind the blankets.


	5. Fighting

Morning --

"You freaking knocked me off the bed."

"Well Moyashi, I wasn't sleeping on the floor. It's not MY fault if your bed isn't big enough for the both of us."

"Whose sick here?"

"Tch. As if that argument is valid. You look well enough to me."

That doesn't mean you can sleep on MY bed though. "

"Who asked me to stay over?!"

The two males bickered all the way to school, both of them looking murderously at each other. The argument might have escalated into something further if Lenalee and Lavi didn't step in. "Hi Kanda! Hi Allen-kun..?" The last part came out questioningly, as Lenalee peered around Kanda's frame to see Allen's smaller one.

"Neh~ This is a surprise? Yuu and Allen together?" Lavi asked, coming from behind Lenalee. He held out one hand to shade his view from the bright sunlight, one bright emerald eye staring at the both of them as if to discern that they were really there together.

" Are you -- " The question was abruptly cut off the red hair-ed rabbit, as Kanda's arm reached out to silence the rabbit. "Don't call me Yuu!" He snarled, one glowing, bright red eye staring at the bunny with an unmerciful grip. While Kanda was busy killing the rabbit, probably preparing it for dinner, Lenalee made her way to Allen.

"I heard you were sick… are you all right?" She tilted her head, one hand holding onto the end of her pigtail. She sent a worried look to the younger classman from under her lashes, prompting Allen to respond, "Yes!" He sent her a cheerful smile. "Kanda brought me medicine, and I slept a lot, so its fine." He reassured the Chinese girl, seeing a relieved smile appear on her delicate face. She slid a glance towards Kanda.. Her eyes suddenly speculative as she realized the impact of Allen's last words. She watched as Kanda throttle the student council president, and the usual death threats that he addressed to Lavi. "Is that so?" She murmured softly, causing Allen to wonder what she was talking about.

"So. Allen-kun. I noticed that you looked a bit paler before you were sick. Having trouble studying?" She hooked an arm into Allen's, guiding him to school. Allen looked flustered at the intimate action, but managed to reply "N-Not really, Lenalee."

"Me and Lavi were thinking of creating a study group." The Chinese girl went on, looking as if she hadn't heard Allen's answer. "We were wondering if you wanted to join? We could help each other out." Allen stared, stunned. Lenalee smoothly continued, "It'll be late at night.. Or we can use your free periods?"

It would have been churlish for the younger classman to refuse… and he had to admit to himself, that some help would be easier on him. "I suppose so." He ventured to say , giving her a tentative smile. "I'll make sure to give you my work schedule." He offered, Lenalee giving him a smile. "Anytime, Allen. Remember, we're here to help you." Those words were casual… but Allen couldn't help but feel that they had a deeper value. A stab of guilt hung heavily on him.. Hiding his illness and troubles from everyone.

"Allen accepted?" Lavi had disengaged himself from Kanda, slinging an arm around Allen. He threw both the British and Chinese student off balance, regaining their step. "Alll right!" He held out a thumbs up, grinning. "Don't forget about me too, Bakausagi." Kanda pulled Lavi's collar back, sending them all staggering for balance. But even despite that.. Allen felt that he somehow belonged there.

Was it too much to ask for that?

----------------------

"Allen. You made a mistake right there." Lavi pointed at a mathematical formula, "You have to use the first formula. F(x) = a(h-k) + y. "

"I see!" The younger boy exclaimed, erasing his previous work. "Hey, Kanda. Do you know when the next assignment is due?" Lenalee asked from another corner, fingering a book spine.

"Next week Tuesday."

They were in one of their usual study sessions at the school's library. Or to be more exact, the student council's conference room situated in the library, Allen thought with a sweat drop. It was the most readily accessible place for the four of them, excluding the student council's room. As Allen had come to find out, it acted more as their hide out than a conference room. The only three members that were allowed in that room were Lavi, Lenalee, and Kanda.

Lavi was tilting his chair back precariously, it was enough to make him fall if he wasn't careful. He chewed on bubblegum or other snacks while Allen worked, checking Allen's work afterwards. Or he entertained himself by reading a novel -- sometimes they were thin and easy, at other times, they appeared to be the size of a dictionary with terms that Allen had never heard about before.

When Allen had asked Lavi about it, Lavi had only pointed to his head. "I can remember everything, somehow. I'm not the president for nothing." And he had shot a grin to the younger male.

Kanda used the room as a place to store things, as Allen found out one day. A flock of girls had been determined to give Kanda their home-ex food such as cookies and cakes. He hadn't been able to shake them off.. And Allen had been greeted to an assortment of food when he walked in. Maybe an assortment was an understatement, since the word "mountain" had described it so much more accurately.

Lenalee used the room as a place to relax and frequently did her homework there. It was a place to hide from her crazy, psychotic older brother named Komui. He was the school's science teacher, with (surprisingly sane, and down to earth) assistant Reever. Whenever Allen saw him, he was always up to no good. He could understand why the Chinese girl needed a sanctuary away from her older brother.

They had put it to good use by using it as their meeting place where Allen wasn't disturbed by the rumors or gossip. He had told Lenalee and Lavi that he hadn't minded it, but they had refused to accept it.

The four of them weren't always there, sometimes it was only two or three of them. Or Allen worked by himself in his free time.

In the end enough, it was Allen that benefited the most. His grades were steadily rising, and the homework wasn't as hard. In fact, Kanda had even helped him once or twice. Allen was sure that he only helped him because Allen's ineptness had drove him to frustration. But he appreciated the help anyways.

Allen scribbled down more answers, biting at the pen in his hand when he reached a particularly hard passage. "Lavi--" He turned to say, only to see that bookman wasn't there. Nor was Lenalee, as he looked around confused. "Idiot. They said that they were suddenly called in for some student council work.. They'll be back in a little while." Kanda's voice interrupted the silence, coming up behind him.

How had Allen missed that, he asked himself, combing his head for any reminder that they had left. Had he been too absorbed in his assignment? He must have been.

While Allen was busy pondering about himself, Kanda walked over to where moyashi was sitting. He braced both hands on the table, efficiently trapping Allen inside the enclosed space. "What were you having trouble on?" He asked casually, leaning down by Allen's face to observe his homework. "The question that asks about whether Descartes was correct in his theory." Why was he having trouble speaking? The younger boy asked himself, struggling contain the flush that crept up his cheeks. Come to think of it, he had never been alone with Kanda in the conference room before. The samurai had always left early, whether it was sparring lessons, his student council duties, or something else.

"Oh.. It should be yes. See this right here?" His voice caressed Allen's ears, his hair brushing dangerously closely to Allen's face as he pointed out the passage that supported his answer.

"Sick again?" Kanda asked in a sardonic grin, as soon as he realized that that Moyashi wasn't answering him. The look on Allen's face struck a chord in him. "Heh. You look like some pubescent girl, blushing like that. See something that you like?"

"O-Of course not." The younger boy denied, losing all traces of his embarrassment. "I don't know what any of those girls see in you." He said hurriedly, turning his face away in indignation.

"Wealth?" Kanda asked mockingly.

"Speaking of which.." Kanda dug around in his uniform, producing an envelope. "They told me to give this to you in case they didn't make it back on time." He handed the envelope over to Allen, Allen taking it curiously.

"What is it?" He asked, bringing his gaze to meet Kanda's. "Read it for yourself."

Allen unfolded the message, not at all surprised to see Lavi's scrawled handwriting _."Yo, Allen! We're planning a Halloween party for the school on the night of the 31st__. Don't miss it, k? I've got a costume all set out for you, so don't worry about the cost."_

Halloween already? Oh.. Allen had transferred in the middle of first quarter, so that was about right. Time had passed by so quickly! But instead of being excited, Allen looked dismayed. "What's up?" Kanda asked, narrowing his eyes. He was pretty sure he knew where this was heading.

"My job.. Leverrier." He shrugged helplessly. "Yesterday, he said he had no employees working on the 31st. I um. Volunteered."

"By volunteering.. Do you mean that you weren't given an option?" Allen looked over at Kanda, surprised by his astuteness. But then again, he had told Kanda of Leverrier before. "I guess you could call it that." He said, somewhat bitterly. Tucking the paper back inside the envelope, he handed it back to Kanda. "Would you.. Um. Tell Lavi and Lenalee that I'm busy that day? Just don't tell them what I'm doing."

Kanda stared at Allen, his intensity unnerving the British male. "All right." He tucked the envelope back into his jacket.

"But.. Chances are that they already know. They aren't going to be fooled forever." For the first time in his life.. Kanda had the urge to take care of someone else. Allen to be specific. To get rid of his burdens, and wipe those dark shadows beneath Allen's eyes away. And for him, it was _unusual._ Lavi and Lenalee were taken with him at first sight, treating them as if they would treat their younger siblings. For him though, why? He couldn't stand the younger male.. His fake smile, the sickly sadness he emitted. But no one but Kanda had noticed. And how Allen tried to shoulder everything by himself, without asking anyone else. How idealistic he was.. The world hardly survived on any ideals. People like that got stomped and trampled on. That was just pathetic. Merely thinking about the bean sprout had an irrational anger rising up within him.

"Pathetic." Kanda muttered beneath his breath. "What was that?" Allen asked. "You make me so angry." The cold flash of anger had him crumpling a paper beneath his hand. "You're so willing to sacrifice yourself at the expense of others. Not only are you paying for yourself, but for some other guy's debts too? How much fun do you have when you do that?"

He closed the distance between the two of them, bring Allen's snow white hair to his lips in a purely mocking gesture. His eyes held a sardonic glint.

"We might as well call you a martyr."

"…" Allen's head lowered, his bangs falling over his face so that Kanda couldn't see his face. "..Shut the hell up." Allen's cold voice cut through their conversation like a sharpened knife.

"Do you think that I don't want to go? .." A warm tear streaked down the side of his face, his fingers slowly curling to make a fist. His skin was white, nail punctures evident in his palm displaying how much Allen thought of the comment. "Do you think I like working myself to the point of exhaustion? Denying myself?"

His head snapped up, his gray eyes brimming with unshed tears. "And my master's debts? Those people he owed money to, .. What do you think they'll do when they don't have it? Not everyone is as rich as you."

"So, you'd sacrifice yourself for strangers that you don't even know? Out of pity?" Kanda said in a barely controlled voice, his fingers itching to throttle the young boy.

"I can't help it. If it's something I can prevent.. Shouldn't I? I cant be like you, Kanda." His hand clutched at where his heart was. "My world isn't about me alone. The things that are right in front at me.. The things that tear at my heart. I can't abandon them." Thoughts of Mana, his foster father flickered through his mind.

Allen placed a hand squarely on Kanda's chest, causing the looseleaf invitation to slip out of his coat and float gently to the ground. He didn't notice it though, as he said in trembling words.. "If you've ever had to sacrifice anything in your precious little life before, tell me.." Allen turned on his heels and left, slamming the door behind him. That showed how angry he was, when he was normally polite - even to inanimate objects.

"That wasn't what I was trying to get across." Kanda leaned on one foot, running his hands irritated though his hair. "Stupid as usual, Moyashi." Kanda muttered beneath is breath, picking up the invitation. What was he going to tell Lavi and Lenalee? Tch. He'd probably be chewed out for it, and it wasn't even his fault.


	6. I understand

Allen sighed, even as he restocked items onto the shelves of the gas station. How had he gotten into a fight with Kanda? He thought he had learned to tolerate the samurai's cynicism, having even grown accustomed to his mannerisms.

He knelled to restock another item on the lower shelf.. But remembering the incident had the young boy hanging his head. "And I thought I could finally get along with him." Allen said outloud, looking unusually depressed. Maybe his depression was due to the fact that he couldn't attend Lavi's party either. If he could just discard all of his worries and enjoy a normal high school life.. Even for one day. But even that was too much to ask, oblivious to the strange looks that he was getting from his customers.

* * *

"Oh man." Lavi's chin rested on the palm of his hand, staring at Yu through one emerald eye. Lenalee had another appointment, so Lavi had come back to the study room. He hadn't expected much.. But what he didn't expect was to see Allen gone and Yu in a pissed mood. And this was pissed, not the usual Kanda look. He knew Kanda better than that. "C'mon, Yu. Spill the beans. What happened?"

Kanda leaned against the doorway, not usually one to confide in Lavi. But he didn't understand why moyashi was so pissed. Another person's perspective couldn't hurt, Kanda reasoned.

"Moyashi turned down your invitation." Lavi's eye flickered in surprise.. He was disappointed, but there was more to this story than a simple declination. He waited for the stoic samurai to continue, and he wasn't disappointed. "I told him that it was idiotic for him to continue with his passive attitude. He won't get anywhere in life with that kind of approach." Kanda's voice was laced with anger.. Lavi reflected. That was unusual, for Kanda normally regarded everyone with indifference or annoyance.

"It's as if he doesn't even trust us to come forward with his problems." Kanda's fist pounded against the door, the pain searing through his hand. But in his anger, he didn't even notice it. The sound caused some people outside in the library to jump at the unexpected sound.

"Ma, ma, Yu~" Lavi pulled up a bag of chips, opening it with a pop of released air. "What?" Kanda asked, with even more annoyance at the nonchalance that Lavi was treating him with.

"You don't see, do you?" Lavi was treated to a sideways glance from Kanda, clearly wondering what he was missing. "Allen has always thought about us first. He knows that if he reveals anything.. We'll worry about him."

"Tch. That's idiotic."

"That's what you'll have to make him see, Kanda." A grin played at Lavi's lips, as if he were in on a inside joke that Kanda didn't know about.

"At the very least, make him see it before you come to my party. You'll scare everyone away with that scowl on your face." Kanda's scowl only grew even darker - go figure that idiotic rabbit would say something so trivial. But he had given Kanda insight, and for that, he forgave him.

* * *

The next few days had been frosty between the both of them. Allen avoided Kanda, and the student council had suddenly been bombarded from all the departments with paperwork. Or at least it seemed that way, Kanda thought annoyed while tapping his fingers on the edge of the desk. By the time that they had finally gotten everything sorted out, along with their other obligations, it was early morning on October 31st.

Allen arrived to work early that morning, arranging the stereotypical hat that accompanied his worker uniform at the gas station. "Allen, are you sure that you want to work today?" 'Mother' asked him. She was an old lady, but famed for her good advice and wisdom. Her insightful ways and giving nature had earned her the nickname of 'Mother' among her acquaintances, Allen included. She was the second manager among Leverrier's workers, not always agreeing with the high handed man's methods of dealing with things. And Leverrier's dislike of the younger boy was widely known, although Allen had done nothing to warrant such treatment. "What are you talking about? You know that I wouldn't have anything to do anyways." Allen reassured her, ignoring the aching twinge that he felt by lying. But it was best not to make her feel guilty, she had nothing to do with Allen's position.

"Are you sure?" Her gaze bored into the young male's, not believing Allen for a second. That boy was growing up far too early, not enjoying his childhood as he should have been.

"Please don't worry about it." Allen ducked the rim of his cap down, heading out to the mechanic's station. Looking down, he knew he couldn't conceal his wistful expression. Best to work on something until he could get his emotions under control.

Walking across the station, he only noticed the barest cast of a shadow in front of him before he collided into a strong chest. "Heading somewhere?" The familiar voice asked, calloused hands reaching out to steady him. Allen's cap had fallen off, while his white hair was a mess in front of his eyes. "I-I'm sorry..!" Allen apologized profusely, forcing himself not to think of Kanda. The last time that he had parted ways with Kanda, it had ended on a bad note so Allen wasn't expecting to see him ever again. "… Moyashi.. " The voice said, laughing. "K-Kanda?!" That name was unmistakable, as Allen finally glimpsed a sight of the older male through his messy bangs. "What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be helping at Lavi's?" He tried to back away, but Kanda kept a firm grip around his waist.

"Let go! I'm working." Allen tried to push at Kanda's chest with his hands, wondering if the samurai just wanted to torment him further by coming here. Instead, Kanda merely hoisted him over his shoulder, as Allen pounded on his back with all the strength he could muster. "

".. and so, that's the story!" He could hear Lavi's voice floating out of the automated opening doors, as Kanda surveyed the store for the situation. In particular, if Lavi had accomplished their goal. Meanwhile, Allen could only guess what Lavi had told her. "I told that Leverrier, but he wouldn't listen.." 'Mother' stared at the new intruder, with Allen slung over his shoulder. A faint smile, as she realized that this was the person that might change Allen. The boy needed a forceful male to balance his kind nature.. Turning back to Lavi. "Take him. I'll find a replacement. Kids should have fun, not work." Her tone was slightly reprimanding, indicating that she had caught Allen's lie.

"B-but..!" Allen sputtered, not believing that she would let Allen be taken away like this. "I can have my grandson take care of it for you. Remember him?"

"And if you need payment, I'll be glad to float you a loan, Allen~" Lavi's voice chimed in, destroying all of Allen's arguments.

"Now, shut up Moyashi." Kanda's voice cut in sharply, cutting off Allen's words like nothing else could have.

"Lavi, take my motorbike." He called out, intending to have a long talk with Moyashi in the car. Lavi looked up with surprise, and glee since he had been bothering Kanda for MONTHS about that. "Cool! Do I get to -" Kanda cut him off with, "Do anything to it, and I'll carve you up like a Yorkshire steak and scatter you to the depths of the frigging ocean."

He threw the keys over, Lavi catching it with one hand. Striding to Lavi's car, he threw Allen in with a rough jerk. "Lavi's house." He barked to the driver, who asked no questions.

Once the car started driving, Kanda cornered the younger male. "Listen up, Moyashi." His voice was especially dark today, the older male didn't exactly know how to say this. But he would be damned if he didn't at least try. "I didn't mean to imply anything like you said earlier."

"It's just that.." He ran a hand through his locks, at a loss of what to say. "I don't think you should sacrifice the things you want to do for the things you have to do. I've.." His gaze glazed over, almost about to confide something towards Allen. But the thought of remembering was too painful, as he brushed away his thoughts with a brusque tone.

"Anyways, all I wanted to say was don't worry for one night. Enjoy the party. We'll take care of any repercussions that you have." He grumbled, looking out the window at the car.

"And.. I do understand, Moyashi." Those abrupt words were left with no explanation, Kanda wasn't willing to elaborate on it any further. He had his customary frown, but Allen realized that there was a sort of sadness .. Or darkness to those words.


	7. This is Halloween

COMMENTS ARE GOOD GUYS. I'm so touched that you guys liked this story ;__; Your comments convinced me do this in one day in time for Christmas, to spend 3 hours working on this .. Merry Christmas!

I hope you guys appreciate this! I know I was looking forward to this chapter the best~ Remember, please comment on what you liked or disliked! :x COMMENTS MAKE THIS STORY.

And concerning beta reading, someone contacted me before offering to do so. Comment me again if you're still interested, and maybe we can talk over aim or something~

Edit: I can't believe how short this is - it was 3 pages in my wordpad document. hn. D:

* * *

The car ride passed in silence on the way there, neither males feeling inclined to speak.

When they arrived at their destination, Kanda grabbed his coat, and drug Allen along with it by holding onto his other arm. "I wouldn't leave." Allen protested, to which Kanda replied, "It's not that."

Looking down, Allen realized that there was wobbly step, a questioning lilt to his eyes. Was Kanda being … a gentleman? To assuage his guilt from earlier? "I'm a guy too, you know." Allen said, hiding a laugh.

"Yeah, but I didn't fail to notice that during school, you managed to tripped over two books, a puddle of water, a misplaced paper, and virtually nothing." Put that way, it did sound horribly impressive in a accidental way.

"…" Allen swiveled his head around with astonishing speed. "W-what t-the …?! How do you know that? You weren't even _looking_!" His voice came out accusing.

It was true all of those events had happened in the student council room, but Kanda had given no indication at the time that he had noticed Allen, much less of his stumbles. He was always in his corner, doing paperwork and drinking his tea

".. Moyashi." Kanda's mouth twitched, a faint hint of a real smile. " Believe me when I say.. I **notice**."

"Oh good! You brought Allen~" A familiar voice chimed in, interrupting their conversation. "Having trouble with Yu? How would you like to be in my arms?" Lavi pointed at himself with a grin, Allen thought that he was joking. But he wasn't, really. Before Allen could answer that, still blinking blankly, he was scooped up into Lavi's hold.

"The both of you!" Allen said exasperated, squirming in Lavi's arms. Meanwhile, Kanda had a scowl on his face. But from what? Seeing Allen there vaguely annoyed him .. His fingers itching to snatch him back. But Kanda only contributed his annoyance to the reappearance of the nuisance called Lavi. He looked around for his motorcycle, and saw it safely tucked away in the garage. It appeared that Lavi had only arrived a few minutes prior to . At least the baka usuagi had the sense to take care of Kanda's possessions. He normally didn't share what was _his_, so Lavi had been lucky in that one aspect.

"My, my." Lenalee answered the door, one hand on her cheek at their unusual appearance. Kanda had rejoined them from behind, looking like the usual angry person that he was. Allen was still in his worker outfit, considerably crumpled after attempting to get out. He was part way out, trying to use his elbows to propel himself. And Lavi looked like he was having the time of his life, of course. It was quite the sight, but Lenalee handled it smoothly.

"Change into these outfits." Lenalee handed a package to each of them, but it was unclear in exactly what they were. "Thanks, Lena-lady~" Lavi kissed her cheek with a single peck, while Kanda nodded. They both appeared to have prior knowledge of the packages, leaving Allen in the dust.

"..What is it?" Allen stared at the package in his hand, bringing his head upwards to send a questioning glance towards Lenalee. "You'll find out." A coy smile appeared on Lenalee's face, having been charged with the task for appropriate costumes for each of them.

And Lavi insisted on carrying Allen to one of the bedrooms, only dropping him when he arrived at the bed. "Take your time Allen. We'll meet out in the hallway." Lavi pointed on the room on both sides, "I'm taking the right. Kanda is taking the left room. Just to make sure that you don't get lost~"

He looked at Kanda to see if the male would provide any more info, but Kanda didn't even glance at him. "That's fine." He answered, which apparently satisfied both males enough to leave.

Once on the bed by himself, Allen pulled out various parts of his outfit. A note slipped out, in Lenalee's neat handwriting, giving him simple directions in where to begin. "Go, go, Allen!" A personalized message to him at the end of the note, Allen smiling in response.

All three of them emerged from their room at the same time, a moment of silence as they observed each other in their respective doorways. "…"

Allen was the first to speak. "..This surprisingly fits us well.." Allen ended on a note of dryness, while all of them pondered over Lenalee's mind-reading ways.

(SWEATDROP SWEATDROP INSERT BAM)

Allen was dressed impeccably as a waiter, there was even a red ribbon tied around his neck to finish his appearance. Lavi was dressed as an aristocrat vampire, a black cape draped around his shoulders, connected by a string. And Kanda was dressed as the Mad Hatter - there was even a clock on his chain adorning his waist.

All of their costumes had time, detail, care, and money invested into them. Their heights, measurements had been taking into account, although Allen didn't know when Lenalee had the time or occasion to do it.

"Allen, you look so cute~!" Lavi doved for Allen, hugging his compact figure. Allen managed to reply, "T-thanks, Lavi." But he was staring at Kanda, a light tinge of pink on his cheeks. "You look good, Kanda." Allen remarked conversationally, while Kanda merely turned his head. "Tch. Let's go see Lenalee now."

"I did good, didn't I?" Lenalee said upon their entrance, pleased by her selection. Walking up to them, she critically observed their outfits for any errors, or faults. But in the end, she only straightened Allen's ribbon, with a smile towards the underclassman.

"How do you like my outfit?" She twirled, dressed as part witch-part cat. Her cat ears blended in with her dark green hair, a short skirt revealing her long slender legs. It was guaranteed that most of the male population would flock to her.. But no doubt, they would be fended off by her brother.

"Without much ado…"

She led the three of them to large set of doors situated on the side of the grand staircase, "Let the party start!" The doors opened, treating Allen to a grand ballroom, filled with costumes, people, and food. Halloweens was in full swing, pumpkins, streamers, and every sort of decoration was in sight. Even the waiters there was dressed in some sort of costumes.

"Sorry for the wait, people!" Lavi called out, looking supremely confident. As if this was his place, used to the lights, the glamor, the attention. He was a bright beacon, his charisma alluding everywhere, and attracting everyone.

"Are you all ready?" He yelled, only to receive a rumbling applause. The foursome made their way to the front, where a small stage resided. Or to be more accurate, Allen was dragged along with them. 'I don't understand what is happening..' Allen was lost. The lights began to dim, the only place that was illuminated was the stage.

The trio took their places among their instruments, a mike standing there for each of them. Lavi was at the drums, while Kanda and Lenalee had a guitar situated at their waisst. Allen was left in the front of the audience, tilting his head. The only thing missing.. was a piano.

"Lets do it!" Lavi held up his mike, and the music blared out.

_"..Boys and girls of every age, Wouldn't you like to see something strange?" _Lavi's voice was husky, his expression inviting, introducing the beginning of the song.

_"Come with us and you will see, This, our town of Halloween_" Kanda's voice broke in, a strong but clear voice to balance out Lavi's husky demeanor.

_"This is Halloween, this is Halloween, Pumpkins scream in the dead of night!"_ Lenalee's voice chimed in, a beautiful melody that had been distorted for the song.

_"This is Halloween, everybody make a scene, Trick or treat till the neighbors gonna die of fright. It's our town, everybody screaming in this town of Halloween. _"

Both Lavi and Kanda sung it together, Lavi temporarily stopping on his drums to face back to back against Kanda. Lenalee took over the instrumental portion, stringing it out on her guitar.

_"..This is Halloween, this is Halloween!" _The trio of them sung the chorus together, as the audience cheered. The band put their own touch on the song, fusing it with a little more instrumental, rock, and pop element.

Allen found himself caught up in the audience's excitement, as everybody sang along.

His fingers were itching.. Allen turning his head left and right for what he was looking for. There it was.. An old piano that had been hooked in, but it didn't appear to be used.

It was just a matter of getting into rhythm, since it was already a song that he already knew.

The sounds of a piano mingling in with their rock music was surprising to everyone in the audience, but Lavi had given no indication that it wasn't unplanned. He slid a smile over to Allen, encouraging him for all that he was worth. It gave them a delicate enough vibe to match the eeriness of the song, but didn't mess with their music.

"EEEE. Whose the new guy? He's so adorable!"

"..and good." Another bystander commented.

_"In this town we call home  
Everyone hail to the pumpkin song_

_La la-la la, Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! Halloween!" _And that was the end of the song.

"And that's it folks! Consider that your Halloween president from your student council!" Lavi grinned at the crowd, their performance earning them an enormous reaction from the crowd, and an impression that would last the entire night. The lights flickered on again, bathing the ballroom in bright light.

"They were so hot! They don't perform for school very often, do they?"

"My favorite is Kanda… but that new guy is cute too."

"Yo, Allen! I didn't know you played the piano." Lavi hooked an arm around Allen's neck, as Allen wound down from the excitement.

"You were amazing, Allen!" Lenalee hugged Allen, Allen feeling relieved. They weren't mad at him for interrupting their performance..? "Play with us sometime Allen~ We've been missing a pianist. And you proved yourself well." Lavi wasn't joking, he never pulled any punches when it came to his band. He accepted only talent, not a famous name or to kiss up to anybody.

"How about it Kanda?" Lavi turned to his band member for confirmation, while Kanda remained on the side, silent. "Do whatever you want." Kanda muttered.

(Last part is a bit awkward since I was rushing here… hm. Sorry!)


	8. Take My Hand

Now, the story is appropriately rated.

I won't update until I get 40 reviews. tell me possible ideas / what you guys want to do or how you feel. sry ;; but it sux when ppl fav + don't r&r D

* * *

"I can't, Lavi..!! I can't possibly be good enough." Allen protested, knowing that he would disappoint the group.

"Let me talk to you about this later, Allen." Lavi winked, silencing Allen. They had to finish this night before Lavi was able to talk to Allen in detail about what Allen was about to be involved in.

"Now go down, and wait for the event." Lavi pushed the younger male to ground level, it wouldn't do for Allen not to have fun!

He resumed his position at the mike, "And now, it's what you've all been waiting for.. The dance portion of the night." Lavi bowed, with Lenalee and Kanda on both sides. 'Except this will come with a twist devised by yours truly, the student council." Tch, Student Council his ass, Kanda thought to himself annoyed. It was probably another way for Lavi to entertain himself.

"There will be no lights for approximately one minute, and during that time, you'll need to find your dance partner by holding their hand. Whoever is holding your hand by the time the lights are back on is officially your partner. It'll be your duty to dance with them.. Make new friends, or find your true love. Think of it as fate." He winked, and grinned.

"And don't underestimate this! There's an old legend saying that an everlasting couple is always born from this tradition."

He paused for a few moments to let it sink in, whispering and determined glances swooped through the audience. "I want to pair up with Kanda." One girl whispered, while another one squealed, "I'd prefer Lavi!". It was going to be a fierce competition for those two, as it seemed all the girls had their targets set on the student council members. "Wouldn't it fantastic if we ended up as a couple?" No doubt that many of the girls were hoping for that prospect, Allen tried to contemplate the two men in question, Lavi, maybe. Kanda? He was a frigid ice block, there was no possible way in hell. Hell would freeze over before it came to that.

.. Maybe not all of them, Allen noticed, his curiosity perked as a timid Miranda made her way over to Marie. They were both teachers, but Allen would've never through that… No, they matched each other quite nicely. "U-um.. I-if you could.." Her hand went up to her mouth, looking away with a slight blush, struggling and fidgeting in a nervous manner, not being able to fully articulate what she wanted to say.

"Now, lets begin."

There was a switch in Lavi's hand, Allen presumed to be the light switch since it would have been a hassle to walk across the large ballroom, while he sipped a drink. He was leaning against a wall, planning to take no part in the so called 'tradition'.

"O-oh!" A surprised sound emerged in the darkness, Allen only guessing that Marie had taken the initiative. Good for them. Meanwhile, sounds of shuffling, and rustling about were obvious. Allen was inwardly glad not to be involved in that chaos, not having time for romance or anything of the sort since he had taken up his lifestyle with Mana and Cross. Cross was too much to handle for anybody much less balancing anything else on that plate.

"Tch." ..What? Allen was assuaged by the sound of that familiar voice, before his hand was grabbed roughly, and the tell-tale body weight that had stumbled against him. "Wh--" A hand was clasped over his mouth, Allen was unable to get free, why was this happening? A girl's voice rung out in the darkness, "Who got him? Do you hear him?" Their disappointed voices sounded like they were right in front of them.. Before they moved on to find him in the next area.

* * *

"Student Council President… Do I detect that you need some saving?" A husky voice whispered into his ear, Lavi was jarred from the presence. He hadn't expected it, but suddenly a bunch of girls had dove for him as soon as the lights were turned off. He didn't even know how he had escaped from that, but somehow he had. Kanda was probably facing the same brutal assault, Lavi thought wryly. But that wasn't the problem here. He wasn't safe for much longer. "Yes." Lavi hissed, not placing the unfamiliar voice.

A set of hands lifted him, holding him beneath his arms, away from the insanity on the ground level. Lavi felt himself being pushed into a set of curtains, almost lost in the folds of the large fabric. "Shhh." His knuckles brushed lightly against Lavi's lips, motioning for him to be silence. A solid body shielded him from sight and hearing, as girls rushed past them. "We have to find one of them! Lavi or Kanda, I don't care." A frustrated voice muttered, and moved on to continue their relentless search before the time limit ended.

* * *

The lights turned back on.

And they were certainly in for a surprise.

Kanda was holding Allen's hand.

Tyki-Mikk Sensei was holding Lavi's hand.

Lavi and Allen were at a complete loss at how this had happened.

"It looks like I caught the rabbit." Tyki raised Lavi's hands to his lips, placing a brief kiss, but his mouth lingered over the gloved hand, a smirk playing at his lips. This was his savior?

"Play along for a while." Kanda muttered beneath his breath, going to the only haven he knew. Moyashi. At least he wasn't like the bumbling girls whose presence was like tedious flies. The only reason that he had escaped was because he had bolted, feeling the instinctual danger far before Lavi. But that didn't mean he was safe, not as long as he didn't have a partner. As much as he hated that solution, as student council members, they weren't allowed to make - or be the exceptions to this dance set tonight.

"I can't believe it…"

"Tyki.. And Lavi? And that weird boy is with Kanda..?" Dismayed sighs, glares that threatened to kill were directed at the two people who had snagged 'their targets'.

"And since you've all found your partners for tonight, lets begin." Lenalee had taken up the mike, as the orchestra began to play. There were happy couples as well, such as Miranda and Marie, Eliade and Krory…. Wait, ELIADE AND KRORY?

Allen had to double-take at that, his eyes widening. Their like had been so painstakingly obvious.. had Krory finally mustered all the courage to ask her to do something for _once?_ Or had Eliade coerced him? Allen supposed that it didn't matter in either way. They were finally together.

And look, there was Bak and Fou. Although they both could've looked a bit happier, Allen mused as they continued to stare daggers at each other. Their undertones was love though, Allen knew that for sure. Bak may have claimed to like Lenalee, but Allen had seen his face when he talked of Fou. He probably didn't know about it himself, stuck with that infatuation of Lenalee. Did he have a death wish? Probably.

"Moyashi. Moyashi -" Kanda's voice cut in familiarly into his thought, Allen realizing that he didn't want to face the issue at hand. "Were you listening? Oh, never mind. I was telling you to put one hand on my shoulder, and another at my waist."

Allen did as he told, despite some awkward movements since he had no concept of dancing. At all. "I'll lead." Those words were reassuring, Allen relaxing in infinite relief.

"Why me?" He had finally recovered some wits to ask about the odd situation that they were in. They were moving, Allen's steps falling into line with Kanda. "No reason… Don't worry, I have no interest in you. I'll let go as soon as the dance is over. I just need you to dance with me until we reach the exit."

Allen didn't flinch.. He was relatively sure that he didn't. He knew that Kanda hated him, but did he have to display it so **blatantly**? "I got it." He replied curtly, getting the point crystal clear. He turned his gaze away, leaving the conversation in silence. Looking down, Kanda noticed the expression on Allen's face, wondering what had caused his sudden gloom. His words? That didn't make sense. Tch. The Moyashi was too difficult to handle.

* * *

"I-it's not weird for two guys to be dancing together?" Lavi asked Tyki hesitantly, to which Tyki chuckled. "Weird? No.. I don't think so. Not if your little pal, Kanda and Allen are doing it?"

".._What?_" Lavi jerked his head around, only to see that Tyki was right. If he hadn't seen it for himself, he would have never believed it. (Of course, he still didn't believe it, but he was dancing with TYKI of all people. That in itself was odd enough.) Kanda was twirling Allen around on the dance floor with his customary scowl, Allen seeming to converse with Kanda about something.

"Now, now. Why don't you turn your attention back to us?" His tone was innocent enough, but Lavi felt otherwise. To distract himself, he asked "You dance well. Did you learn?"

"Yes. My father insisted that I learn with the rest of my siblings… of course, my previous dance partners weren't nearly as amusing as you are, boy." He left bookman junior to decipher that comment on his own, and smoothly transitioned to another topic."

"Why wasn't your pal Lenalee attacked like you males?" Now, this was a genuinely honest question. A glace in her direction revealed that Lenalee was sitting there, talking to several subordinates under Komui. Was that.. Reever? Tapp? And Johnny? Lavi blinked, wondering why Tyki didn't know. The reason was infamous. And then he remembered, Tyki didn't have much to do with the school system. He normally stayed on his own side.

"Her brother, who is Komui and has a sister-complex, has a tendency to kill everyone who goes after her. He's made it crystal-clear to the entire school." Lavi explained cheerfully, one emerald eye amused now. He had gone through that a fair share himself, but Komui still looked at him through narrowed eyes. And Kanda? Kanda was too much of a cold-fish to be a threat. Now.. Allen, who had come into the picture. Neither Lavi nor Komui could seem to make anything of it yet. The closest thing was a sisterly-brotherly relationship, Lenalee acting as an older sister to the British boy.

"Hm? They disappeared." Tyki was looking off into the distance, talking absent-mindedly. Who was he talking about? Allen and Kanda? Lavi turned towards where there used to be, to find that they were indeed gone. "Did you want to look for them?" Tyki whirled him towards the edge of the dance floor, giving him an advantage to slip away from the crowded ballroom and their rabid fans.

* * *

"Do whatever you'd like." Allen immediately released Kanda as soon as they had gotten a safe distance away from the ballroom, not inclined to stay there any longer. Maybe he'd go visit Lavi, or Lenalee, or do something. Anything was better than then staying where he obviously wasn't wanted.

"Hm?" Kanda was looking down the hallway, not even bothering to look like he was listening. Allen's jaw twitched, that was certainly Kanda to say the least.

"Mm. Do you like me, Krory?" A sultry voice seemed to be rounding the halls, two sets of footsteps could be heard.

Allen's eyes automatically widened, looking around him frantically. "Y-yes.. " A nervous stammered out, while Allen yanked Kanda by the ponytail into a darkened room. When it appeared that the enamored couple was about to enter the same room that Allen and Kanda resided in, Allen had already spotted the wardrobe in the corner, dragging Kanda along. He ignored that any protests that the samurai made, which included a hiss "What the… hell are you doing?!". He threw Kanda in first, climbing in after him, only _just_ making it before Krory and Eliade stepped into the room. "Don't talk loudly." Allen whispered, not yet giving the irritated samurai any explanation. And the wardrobe was a tight fit, obviously not meant to fit a person much less two people. Kanda was partly sitting , leaning against a wall, while Allen was in his lap. Whenever they moved, they couldn't help but squirm against each other.

"Tell me, Krory… do you feel like doing this to me? Or perhaps.. This?" Krory's stammer considerably worsened, Allen wasn't sure what was happening since pretty much anything that touched intimacy set off the older male.

"Exactly, what is happening?" Allen almost groaned, wishing that he wasn't here with Kanda. If it was Lenalee or Lavi, it would have been so much easier. His icy tone hadn't disappeared, cutting through the space between them like a sharpened blade.

"Well.. Me and Lavi have been trying to get them together for ages. They're perfect for each other.. And if you mess it up, God help you before I get to you." He didn't mention the hours of effort, and countless persuasion that had taken him to even talk to anyone of the female variety, not even barring the girl that he liked. Allen's polite smile sparkled in a dangerous way, as Kanda was forced to look away. "Tch." Allen guessed that it was Kanda's way of saying all right.

When Allen turned his attention back towards the other couple, Eliade was in the midst of a moan, "Y-yes… there." The sound of clothing being undressed filtered through the small crack in the door, their pants and moans evident of sex. H-How had they gotten there already?! Allen's face was crimson, he was like any other 15 year-old boy when they experienced sex. Suddenly, the atmosphere between them changed. "Moyashi.." Kanda nipped at Allen's ear, his voice both amused and husky, "You're hard." There was no need to explain, Allen vividly thinking that he would die of embarrassment. In all of his 15 years, Kanda would be the one to experience his first hard-on. "J-Just ignore it.. It'll calm down soon." But instead of ignoring it, Allen felt long fingers brush past his growing erection.

'_Just an accident_..' Allen told himself, shifting in discomfort. Until he felt Kanda's fingers caressing his erection, and then applied more pressure to rub against the delightful obstruction in his pants. One finger hooking into the waistband of his pants. "N-No." Allen groaned, he couldn't mask the sounds of pleasure. A feral smile appeared on Kanda's face, enjoying this situation far farther than he should have. His fingers reached Allen's cock, wrapping his fingers around it. He ran his hand down the length, familiarizing himself with it before he began to pump his member. "Nggh.. I..I..!" Pre-come leaked from the head of his member, coating Kanda's hand in the slippery juice. The squelching noises seemed far more amplified in the small space, while Allen looked out the crack, fearful of getting caught. "So wet.. If I didn't know better, I think that you'd want to get caught." Allen shook his head tearfully, Kanda's expression saying that he didn't believe a word of it. But he brought his face dangerously close to Allens, "If you don't want to be heard, let me help you.." His mouth sealed over Allen's lips, greedily tasting him, thrusting his tongue inside while Allen was too surprised to stop him. He kept his mouth on Allen's until he was out of breath, saliva leaking out of the corner of the dazed boy's mouth, and Kanda lapped it up with his own tongue. But the kiss had only been a transition to what was coming next, as Allen felt a handkerchief being stuffed into his mouth. "To shut you up." Kanda murmured, wanting to leave his mouth free for other things, and to stop from hearing the irritating protests that he uttered, while his body obviously wanted something else. His mouth trailed downwards, one hand crept up to unbutton Allen's outfit. So annoying, he thought vaguely, tempted to rip the material. When he finally freed the material, leaving Allen's chest exposed, he didn't hesitate to latch on to the curve between Allen's shoulder and neck, nibbling on it to mark _his prey._ Contrary to belief, Kanda was **very** possessive, progressing down toward's Allen's nipples. They were already pert, Kanda taking it between his teeth, his tongue swirling the bud inside of his mouth.

"N..ygh!..!" He couldn't speak, Allen didn't know what this feeling was, as something in his belly tightened. A flash overtook him, as the white liquid shot from Allen's member into Kanda's hat. "You made my hand dirty." Kanda smirked, drawing his hands from Allen's pants and licked it.

In the cloudy haze that his mind was currently occupied with, Allen's upper facilities were a bit slow in comprehending what Kanda was about it do. "You can't!" Allen's hand had picked the cloth from his mouth, can't believing that the samurai had tasted his come. Kanda didn't stop though, until his hand was clean. "It tastes good.. Let me show you." Kanda pressed his lips against Allen's once more, transferring a salty and bitter taste.

"I-I ..!" Allen pushed at the samurai's chest with his hands, but incidentally propelled himself towards the doors of the cabinet. He fell out, headfirst, his head about to hit the ground.

_CRASH!_

"You IDIOT!" Instead of feeling the pain that he thought he would, he found that he had landed against something. A cushion that had broken his fall.. And stared right into Kanda's chest. He was sitting on Kanda's lap, except this time - it was much more comfortable in the open room. "What would you have done if you had injured yourself?" Kanda couldn't help but bark at the other male, his face etched in worry.

Their cover was blown, but the couple was no longer there. Eliade and Krory were gone.. Off to god knew where.

But Allen was left there, embarrassed and blushing. He couldn't seem to speak, and any attempts to do so resulted in silence. "Tch.." Kanda didn't know what had happened, but he couldn't say that he regretted anything that had happened between the two. His clean hand reached past Allen, wrapping around the back of Allen's head. "Moyashi." Kanda said to briefly warn the other male of his intentions, before bringing his head towards Kanda to engage him in a brief kiss. The taste was bitter, but Allen was sweet, like candy. Kanda normally hated sweet stuff, but Moyashi's taste..hn.. could be pretty addicting, keeping him occupied with a flurry of kisses until he was out of breath.

"So, can you speak again?"


	9. Pain Without Love

Sorry for being so late about this D: Even though you guys gave me so much reviews! School consumed me _ _;;; Hopefully I'll be able to churn out more chapters after my projects are done~!

The bottom half is messy, and I had to do it quickly! I'll probably be editing/improvising later.

Thanks! And make sure you review what you liked :D and what you'd like to see! (I can't gaurantee anything, but it never hurts to try, yes?)

Have fun reading!

* * *

"Where did they go..?" Lavi questioned, peeking into the rooms that they passed by. It was his house, but even then - Lavi was never sure, his house was vast enough to accommodate an entire apartment complex.

"Let me help.." Tyki was mildly wondering how that white-haired boy and the uptight samurai was faring, it should be interesting. He opened a door a fraction.. and a sight that he hadn't expected to greet his eyes promptly did so.

"Did you find them?" Lavi called out from behind him, looking at Tyki expectantly to move aside. "Well," Tyki closed the door behind him, "Why don't we try a different area?"

"Why? The bookman side of him perked up in curiosity, noticing with acute observance that the teacher hadn't answered his question. And that made him all the more curious - never mind the saying that curiosity killed the cat. "Is there something you don't want me to see?" One green eye glimmered, he obviously wouldn't let this issue go, pushing his way past Tyki.

Allen was sitting on top of Kanda, Kanda's tongue pushing it's way into Allen's mouth, both of them heatedly participating, any sounds that Allen made went unnoticed. Kanda took his time to lift his head at the intruders, while Allen's thoughts were incoherent. "What do you want?" Kanda growled irritated, glaring out of the corner of his eye. He obstructed Allen's view with his own body, clearly **not** appreciating the interruption.

"Well, that does it." Tyki had one hand on his hip, the other at his forehead. He had anticipated Bookman Junior's reaction long before hand - hence his hesitation to let the boy see.

Lavi stood there dumbfounded. He looked as white as a ghost.. as if he would fade away with the slightest of breezes. He was completely frozen.

"You owe me a favor, boy." He stared pointedly at Allen, before beckoning with one hand, "Lavi."

"….what?" Lavi couldn't take his eyes off Kanda and Allen - give him a moment or two and he would be back to normal - aside from the fact that his two very best **male**, did he mention male by the way, f5ends were _kissing_. No, kissing wouldn't be the best term.

"Mikk-Sensei..?" Allen questioned dazed, still trying to return to reality.

Tyki's elongated fingers curved beneath Lavi's chin, forcing him to turn in Tyki's direction. There were no words to say, Tyki effectively sealing his mouth with a kiss of his own. Lavi's eye widened, Tyki taking advantage of his surprise to penetrate further into Lavi's parted lips. He didn't give the president a chance to escape, forcefully keeping him there, while tasting him at his own leisure. Lavi's legs felt like they would fall out from beneath him - Tyki was his only support.

"I wasn't planning on doing it so quickly, but I suppose this is as good a time as any other." He lazily remarked, licking his lips afterwards, like Lavi was a good meal.

"Get out." Kanda had reached the end of his patience, but Tyki stayed with an indolent glance, apparently not going anywhere. He pulled a chair, and sat down, dragging Lavi into a chair of his own. "Now, why don't you get properly dressed," and he changed his trajectory towards Kanda, "and we'll let them recover, hm?" His tone was maddening, meant to drive the short-temped samurai crazy.

Kanda, seeing that he would no longer get any privacy, handled Allen with a surprising gentleness - setting him down on the ground.

Allen instinctually straightened his outfit, not realizing Tyki's intent stare until he zipped and buttoned his pants again - this time, he was profusely embarrassed while Kanda looked tactfully away.

"You look positively delicious," Kanda stared at him with a murderous glare, "but fortunately for you, I'm a bit more interested in rabbits." A maddening gaze, and Tyki rested his face on his palm looked undeterred.

Lavi snapped out of his momentary daze back into reality, handling Tyki by his collars. "How could you do that?!" His expression was a mixture of embarrassment, and fury.

"And Kanda!" Kanda merely looked away, no guilt whatsoever on his face.

"Tell me he didn't force himself on you, Allen."

"N-no! I'm the one that forced him into the closet!" Allen waved his hands, denying the statement.

"……" Both Tyki and Lavi was forced to stare at him with blank looks, making Allen realize how odd it must've sounded.

"I mean.."

The corner of Kanda's mouth twitched at the predicament the younger male had gotten himself into.

"No, you know what? I don't think I want to know." Tyki looked away with an expression that seemed to indicate '_High school kids these days… no shame, huh?_' (seemingly to forget his own actions,) while Lavi looked at Allen with hopeless eyes. There were no words to describe their feelings. At all.

While Allen was left to despair in the corner over his predicament, it seemed that had recovered Lavi's composure, scratching the back of his head.

For a person that was great at improvising, he had no idea what to do about this situation.

"Master Lavi." A maid subtly appeared in the doorway, bowing her head in a deferential manner.

"Oh, that time already?" Lavi sighed. "But it's getting late, and I'm worried. I really don't want to send you guys back just yet…."

"What's the problem?" Allen snapped out of his daze to ask.

"The party is about to wrap up, and you and Kanda should be getting home. But Kanda only has a motorcycle," Lavi would know, he rode it here. "And while I'm sure Kanda's skills would withstand anything, it's night time, and on Halloween no less. I wouldn't pass it past some people to be crazy or drunk on the roads right now. But on the other hand, I let my chauffeur go home early, since he wanted to take his kids out for Halloween."

"Allen, you don't have work tomorrow, right?"

"Yes." Allen confirmed but he wasn't sure where this was leading.

"Why don't you sleep over?" Lavi's smile sparkled, he _sparkled_ with such intensity that Allen had no room to say now.

"Kanda as well. Kanda, you know which room, right?" A curt nod from the samurai.

"What about me?" Tyki pointed to himself in an amused fashion.

"You can drive." All three males, Kanda, Allen, and Lavi said in a flat and non-committal tone.

"So cruel. But as it turns out, I don't have a car. My chauffeur had a heart attack." A convenient excuse, and the man was _still smiling_ with that deceptive grin. They wouldn't put lying past Tyki Mikk.

"…" It was clear that none of them believed him.

"Fine, fine." Lavi held up his hands in defeat, was forced to house the older male - they would never be able to prove if he was lying or now unless he called his chauffeur up himself. And even then, the chauffeur would probably play along.

"You're rooming with me, Allen."

"Don't you have more then enough empty rooms in this house?" Tyki raised an eyebrow, casting a glance around the room. Lavi wasn't poor.

"It's for our benefit. While you two, sex deprived males that you are, why don't you take a **cold** shower?" Frosty smile, frosty smile, an _ice cold_ smile from Lavi before he dragged Allen out by the arm.

"This could be problematic." Tyki debated, Kanda's scowl darkening. "Problematic, you say?"

* * *

"Are you sure that we should be sharing? I could sleep in a guest bedroom." Allen gingerly walked over piles of books and looseleaf pages, seeing that Lavi's room was more like a library or storage room of books than his bedroom.

"Maa, maa! It's fine. I went for a bunk bed anyways." Allen eyed it doubtfully, it looked like the top bunk was the only one being occupied. Why choose that anyways?

"Anyways Allen, there's a change of clothes on that table over there." Lavi discarded his cape onto a nearby chair, while Allen unfolded the neat set. It was pajamas, comfortable fleece ones as well.

Unbuttoning his costume, Allen folded it before slipping his arms into the woven fabric. "You can keep it after.. It's in your size anyways, so it'd be useless to give it back to me." Allen had to wonder if Lavi had planned it this way?

Allen climbed into bed, pulling up the covers over his shoulders. He couldn't remember very much about when Kanda stayed with him while he was sick, but he remembered his warmth, the warm back against his that he hadn't felt so long.

How was Kanda doing..? Allen's arm wrapped them around himself, finding himself craving the warmth of another person. After living with Cross and resigning himself to this sort of lifestyle, he had forced himself to be self-dependent. But now.. He couldn't help but remember all the instances that the gruff male had made him sad, happy - he was the entire reason why Allen was here now with Lavi, Lenalee, and all of his friends.

'Mana, I'm sorry. But I think that I may have found someone else to be happy with..' Allen smiled to himself, holding up his deformed hand, and then brought it back to brush his lips against it. It was a promise between him and Mana.

"Did you want to ask something, Allen?" Lavi asked with a knowing smile, his eye gleaming with certainty.

"O-of course not." Allen said flustered, wondering if his emotions had suddenly become transparent. "You sure? I've been with Yuu for a long time."

A pause. A long pause. "All fight." Allen was defeated.

"Yuu likes you."

"Don't joke with me, Lavi."

"You know Yuu. I wasn't sure until.. Y'know." Lavi was referring to the scene that they had stumbled into the library.

Allen didn't respond. While he knew his feelings for the older smurai, he wasn't entirely sure of how Kanda felt towards him. Was it hate? But he acted that way towards everyone - his apathy, indifferent, or annoyance was generally his entire personality. The scene in the library unfolded in his mind, Allen having to cup a hand over his blushing face and looking away in embarrassment. He might... Allen didn't want to raise his hopes up.

"If you don't believe me, let's find out then?" Lavi whispered in a conspiring tone.

Lavi walked to the door, holding a finger to his lips, gesturing for silence. Rolling his eyes, Allen followed him since Lavi would give him no rest otherwise.

As they rounded a hallway, Tyki and Kanda were learning on opposites walls of a corridor. "There th--" Allen didn't get to finish, as Lavi yanked him back.

"..oing to sleep anytime soon?"

Kanda didn't answer.

"Not that it's any of my business, but you seemed to be hitting it off with, what's his name, Allen?"

_Excuse me if you can't remember my name_, Allen thought, his jaw twitching with annoyance.

"Well, I'm sure that you'll be getting along just fine with that dumb rabbit." Kanda didn't answer the question, and Tyki noticed it off the bat.

"So are you saying that you do like Allen_?" _Kanda tch'ed, why was a teacher so interested in someone else's affairs?

"Beating around the bush doesn't do you any good - you might as well confess it to him now instead of acting as if something is shoved up your ass all the time."

Tyki was getting on his nerves - Kanda stood up, "I don't like that fucking moyashi. Get that through your damned skull."

A noise drew both of their attention, Kanda was the quickest since his speed was unparalleled - almost hitting Lavi if he hadn't pulled back in time - and narrowed his eyes when he saw the two of them. What were they doing here? They weren't supposed to be here. Damn that rabbit, and his penchance for eavesdropping!

Allen was looking down. What was this? Tyki was in the background, one hand behind his head as he contemplated the situation. _Uh-oh.._

Allen clutched at his heart, a heavy ache spreading throughout his body. He took a step backwards, almost staggering back. That was how Kanda felt. "I see. We didn't mean to eavesdrop, but," Allen said quietly, his hand covering his eyes. "I'm glad to know how you feel." A prickling sensation stung at the back of his eyes, turning on his heel to leave. How could he have been so _stupid?_ Here he was, misinterpreting things in an entirely wrong he had been too idealistic. He didn't know, he just knew that he felt so tired all of a sudden. "I'm tired Lavi. I'll be leaving first."

He was so exhausted, of the mixed signals, of the turmoil that the older man caused in him.

"Wait, Moya-" Kanda made a move to follow him when Lavi grabbed his arm. "Don't Kanda."

"And why not?!"

"Because we came here to see how you felt about Allen. And considering what you've said, you don't have a right to follow him."

Lavi left him quickly, feeling intuitively that if Allen were left alone, he would break. He would shatter, and nobody would be able to piece him together.

"Are you planning to fix that?" Tyki had the nerve to ask it nonchalantly, as if he hadn't just been the source of this whole problem?

Kanda glared. Exactly _who _caused this problem? He clenched his teeth, wishing to goddamned hell that he hadn't caught a glimpse of Moyashi's face. His face.. As if he had been betrayed. Kanda has seen disappointed faces on girls that had confessed to him before, or plain out shock or disbelief that they had been rejected. But Allen was different. Why was he thinking about this so much?

Lavi found Allen in bed, his back facing towards the door. His small frame trembled, while Lavi stood in the doorway. He closed the door, locking it just in case that Kanda did come in, though Lavi doubted it.

He couldn't say anything. This was his fault. "I'm sorry Allen. I'm so sorry."


	10. Not Alone

Short. Hm. ;-; Moreeee later.

Remember to review, as always, it gets quicker chapter updates xD~

* * *

Lavi woke up to the rustling of clothing, blinking blearily at the familiar figure in his room. "Yo, Allen. Awake already?" Only one of the many examples of Lavi's acuteness, he never forgot anything even though he had just woken up.

"Indeed. " Allen smiled at Lavi. "Your maid handed me a change of clothes. I'll give it back to you after I washed it."

"No problem." Lavi waved the issue already, he certainly didn't care about a trifling issue such as that.

"I'm going to grab some breakfast. If I could have directions to a bus stop after that, that would be great."

"My chauffeur should be back already. You can go home with him."

"All right." Allen pulled on his white gloves, finding it easier to accept Lavi's administrations than to protest it by now.

Neh.. Something seemed off. "Were you wearing those last night?" Lavi asked, referring to the gloves. He couldn't put his finger on it, but somehow, it was significant.

"..I must have forgotten them last night." Allen offered the explanation easily, his hand already on the doorknob to leave.

"Allen.." Lavi said hesitantly, Allen stopping in place. But he didn't turn around. "About last night," Lavi tried to continue, but Allen intervened, "Last night? Don't worry! I hear conversations like that all the time. You learn to develop a thick shell, or it gets to you." Allen was speaking as if it was some teasing or harassment then just getting enormously rejected or turned down.

"Allen, I didn't mean tha --"

"Oh, Lenalee!" The girl's trim figure appeared in the doorwar, looking refreshed as always. "I came over here early. I thought I could eat breakfast with you for the first time."

"Sure." Allen smiled once more, "Do you think they have eggs? Toast?"

"I'm sure they do…" The sound of their voices disappeared as they walked down the hallway, Lavi left in the room to stare at the spot where Allen had been. That wasn't what he meant at all.

--

"..llen! Allen! **Allen!**" Lenalee's voice snapped the younger male out of his daze, finally seeing where he was. "Lenalee?" He was sitting at a dining table out on the balcony with the young student council secretary, and she sighed exasperatedly. "You haven't been listening to a thing that I've said?"

He remembered nodding. He remembered adding a comment or two. He couldn't remember their conversation. "It's okay this time." Lenalee surprised him by letting him off the hook, and then surprised him again with her next words, "But will you tell me what's wrong? You don't usually act like this." Her gentle hand touched his white hair lightly, a worried expression settling on her face.

"Of course I'll tell you when something is wrong. But I was just lost in some thoughts before though." Allen smiled in the way that Lenalee had come to hate, yet she couldn't fault him. Because that's what she would have done.

"Are you going to eat that?" Allen interrupted her thoughts, pointing to an apple tart that had been left untouched on her place. She pushed the plate towards him, Allen brightening up in happiness as he consumed the pastry.

"How much did you eat, Allen?" A voice filled with awe (and slight horror) came up behind Allen, the casual voice belonging to a familiar rabbit.

"Everything that you haven't eaten." Another voice interrupted, coming from a different source dressed in a white dress shirt and black pants. He advanced behind Lavi, his hand snaking around Lavi's chest to lift his chin up to meet Tyki Mikk's lips.

"Where's my morning kiss?" Tyki said as their lips were merely inches away - he was in a joking mood, it seemed.

"What morning kiss? Just because you did it once..!" Lavi was struggling in his arms, tempted to punch him, if it wasn't for the damned arm that was restraining him.

"Let go of me!" Before Lavi's elbow could connect with Tyki's chin, Tyki jokingly stepped back.

"Mikk-Sensei?" Lenalee said, somewhat surprised, before a knowing smile replaced her previous expression. "I see. That's how it is." She picked up her sweetened tea, with all the composure of someone who had gay friends everyday.

"That _**isn't how it is."**_ Lavi snapped, and gritted his teeth, his glare threatening to castrate the older man. Lavi was a guy who loved females, and especially _beautiful_ ones.

"Where's Kanda?" Lenalee looked behind Lavi, noticing his unusual absence. It was rare for the student council president to come with his vice president, always needling him or bothering him in some way until he was forced to come.

"…" All three males stiffened, while Lavi and Tyki exchanged glances with each other. Allen went back to eating.

"Right here." Head tilted, one hand on his waist, and he looked as if had just come from early morning exercise. He was right behind Allen's chair, Allen's spoon stopping mid-way from his mouth.

'Erk!' Both Lavi and Tyki thought.. Wondering what was going to happen next after last night.

Allen continued munching away, the heavy silence obvious between the entire group. Sometime during that pause, Allen had resumed eating. And wasn't his pile of dishes bigger than normal? Allen skewered his sausage with a bit more force than necessary, not looking like he was inclined to break the silence anytime soon.

"Moyashi."

Nothing. _Munch, munch, munch._

"Moyashi."

Nothing. _Chew, chew, chew_.

Kanda's jaw twitched, Allen didn't pause - as if Kanda was non-existent.

_Allen.._ Lavi looked away, wondering how long it would take for Kanda to explode.

"I'm borrowing Moyashi."

Kanda lifted Allen up unceremoniously by his arm, and dragged the younger boy into the house.

"Well then. A coffee please." Lavi took up Allen's seat as if nothing had happened, ruefully dropping in several sugar cubes, and several teaspoons of milk into his dark coffee.

"Dark coffee for me too." Tyki pulled up another seat, Lavi looking aghast. "You're staying?!"

"Yes."

* * *

Allen was protesting all the way, flinging insults at the stoic samurai's back, "Let go of me, you idiot! Soba Samurai! Empty Headed! Short tempered!"

"Got your energy back, I see.." Kanda didn't look any less annoyed, finding a private place for them to talk. If Allen had that much energy left, maybe he had hope after all. When he reached the door of his guest room, he kicked it open, and slammed it shut to ensure that nobody would interrupt them.

"Don't try to leave."

What Kanda hadn't expected was a right hook to his face, temporarily set back by the surprising punch. "Don't think you can drag me anywhere you'd like, BaKanda." Allen was wringing out his hand, his knuckles red, looking as if they would bruise soon. Contrary to his attitude, Allen wasn't weak. He just rarely took action.

"Whatever happened yesterday was a mistake. Don't give it a second thought." Allen turned away from Kanda, thinking that he could leave it at that. Kanda would be happy with that, wouldn't he?

"I'm not done with you yet." Kanda pulled at him from behind, tugging him backwards, his weight causing the both of them to fall onto the bed. His arms still wrapped around Allen's tightly, not allowing him to escape from him once more. Allen struggled, but those efforts were futile in comparison to Kanda's strength, and only exhausted himself.

"Listen Moyashi. What I said yesterday… it was a mistake."

Allen tried to ignore Kanda, his eyes clenched shut - he couldn't think about how good Kanda's arms around him felt.

"It wasn't a mistake. I don't like you either, so let go-"

"Moyashi,

"Look, **I get it.**" Allen had gone stiff in his arms.

Kanda released him, but only briefly enough to straddle the younger boy, his hand pinning Allen's wrists together to prevent another escape. His weight ensured that Allen couldn't kick him with his knees or legs, looking at the male.

Allen was looking away, his jaw set in a grim line as if he was preventing himself from saying something. Kanda's gaze lingered over the mark he made yesterday, reminded of the possessiveness that he felt for Allen.

"Was I your little fuck-buddy because you couldn't find some girl yesterday? You'd go as far as a guy that you don't like?"

Kanda was taken aback by Allen's language, but he had noticed one thing. Allen's eyes glittered with unshed tears, and there was a world of hurt. Allen was on the verge of holding himself together, his pride was probably the only string that prevented him from breaking that. And there was a bleakness, a sort of hopelessness. Had he inflicted that? Kanda hated himself even further for that.

"I like you."

"I like you, Moyashi."

Tears did fall from Allen's eyes, this was the ultimate act of cruelty.

"Y-you can't like me. Allen's resistance faded away, Kanda used his free hand to wipe away his tears. "I know that I'm strange. I have white hair, a deformed hand, and a scar over my eye. "

"Please don't confess to me if you don't mean it Kanda." Allen said with a bitter laugh.

Instead of replying, Kanda picked up Allen's hand gently in his own, pulling off his white glove, and brought it to his lips. "D-don't!" Allen looked embarrassed, but Kanda ignored his protests. Next, he fingered locks of Allen's hair, his mouth making a slow descent down Allen's cursed eye, while Allen flinched. "Moyashi. I don't say things that I don't mean."

Allen wanted to believe his words, but his heart still ached. Which ones could he believe? What he had said last night? Or now? Despite his words though, Allen couldn't help but reflect back on Kanda's actions. Kanda was so kind to him, Allen couldn't let himself be hurt like yesterday. No, the truth was, he was still hurt. He had been hurt last night and this morning, wanting to reach for help, to break down and cry his eyes out. But the tears wouldn't come, having felt like an empty shell that moved through the mechanics of life. '_Please notice, I'm just pretending to be all right. I'm not all right.' _But he had pretended he was all right, and that had only been so much more painful. He had shouldered a burden for so long after Mana's death.

"Moyashi, it's alright, you don't have to--

force yourself to smile." His eyes widened - with one sentence, Kanda had seen through everything. The politeness, the smile, the reassurances to keep everyone at bay, from seeing his true self. What he had sacrificed to survive despite his loneliness.

He could no longer hold back.

"Kanda,"

"Kanda,"

"Kanda…." Droplets of salty water dripped from his cheeks, Allen clinging to Kanda's shirt, muffling his sobs.

"I'll take on all of it." Kanda murmured quietly, one hand snaking around to support Allen's shoulders, his hand rested on the back of his head drawing him closer.

_--_


	11. Then, there was two

I admit, I was going through a particularly shitty day. But seeing your comments, you wouldn't believe how much they cheered me up ;_; I'm not that confident in my fic, but I hope that it brings some joy to your day as well, and I hope that I can meet up with your expectations ;;

--

Allen woke up in a unfamiliar bed, the covers drawn over his form to keep him comfortably warm. He felt absolutely exhausted. But his shoulders felt lighter, as if a heavy burden had been taken off his shoulders. It was hard to explain.

The curtains were drawn, not belying whether it was day or night. He wasn't sure how long he had been there. "I must look horrible." Allen muttered to himself, feeling horrible. His eyes had practically run themselves dry, and there were still tear streaks, and his face was probably red - He self-consciously wiped at his face with the back of his hand.

"You look the way you always do, Moyashi." Kanda's voice came from the other side of the bed, Allen's other arm was still attached to his clothing. Allen looked questioningly at his arm, which seem to have a life of its own. He finally released the wrinkled fabric, rubbing absent-mindedly at his hand. "You wouldn't let go no matter what I did, so I stayed with you." Kanda answered in lieu of Allen's silent question.

Allen could almost kill himself.

"What's with that face, Moyashi?" Kanda pulled on Allen's cheek, not too gently by anyone's standards. "Nushingg" Which was originally 'Nothing' if his jaw wasn't being stretched.

"Well, now that your mind is cleared,"

"..do you believe me?" Kanda's fingers grasped at Allen's chin, forcing him to stare directly at him. It appeared that he wasn't going to sidestep this issue - forcing it to hand.

"I..I.." Allen hesitated, and Kanda sighed an aggravated sigh.

"How long does it take to get through you, dumb beansprout?" Kanda looked briefly annoyed, but Allen was coming to know him well enough to distinguish between the layers of anger, or irritation.

"But you said that you didn't like me…!" Allen defended himself, to which Kanda aggravatedly sighed.

'_Sigh'_ (it even deserved its own sound effect ok)

Kanda didn't even want to go into this, he was trying to avoid it, but he no longer had that option.

"Listen, Moyashi.."

"I said that because I was frustrated."

"Frustrated?" Allen questioned, his innocent eyes blinking in bemusement.

"Yes. Frustrated." Kanda semed tired of repeating that and pinned him to the bed. Rather than explaining it, it would be easier to _demonstrate_ it. "Would you like me to show you what that entails?" Kanda's face hovered teasingly over Allen's face, sliding down to nip at his ears.

Allen found himself blushing, "N-no, t-that's all right." Kanda's hand brushed his neck,and began to creep it's way down into the hem of Allen's pants..

_CRASH_.

"Maa~ You're heavy."

"Speak for yourself - you're not at the bottom."

"Hey Lena-lady~ Want to get off of me?"

"How about you both get off?"

"I think the secret is out."

Lenalee, Lavi, and Tkyi were piled in a heap in front of the door. Tyki looked as if he was taking the brunt of it, sprawled upside down and over the ground with Lavi atop of him. Normally - this would have been a promising situation, had Lenalee not been on top of Lavi. Their weight was crushing him.

"Oh-hey!" Tyki looked as if he had just noticed them, and managed to wave from his position (Allen was at a loss of how he did so-) with a not-so-apologetic glance.

"S-sorry Yu."

"Sorry about that Allen." Lenalee clapped her hands together, seeming to apologize for the other two as well.

"You can't kill them Kanda!" Allen was holding Kanda back from the waist, while Kanda looked as if he was about to send them all to hell -- unsheathing his sword from god knew where.

"You damn bastards - always eavesdropping..!"

"C'mon, Yu! We didn't see that much anyways!" Lavi tried to appease Kanda with a laugh.

Those words only enflamed the samurai even further -

_HIT. CRASH! SMASH. CRACK. MOVE. FALL. _

A vital lesson had been learned, messing with an angry Kanda was a no-go.

--

Lenalee and Allen tended to Lavi's injuries, the bookman wincing as an alcohol swab swiped at a particularly sore spot.

Kanda sat in one corner of the room, while Tyki remained at the window, enjoying a leisurely smoke.

"He really likes you, Allen." Lenalee whispered to Allen, sharing a glance with Lavi, who had his own knowing glance. "Congratulations, Allen on snagging him."

"I-it's not like that." Allen trailed off, not knowing what they did have.

"Allen..?" Lenalee weaved her hand through his, looking up at him with a worried glance. "What are you worried about?"

"He has said that he likes me, but I can't.." Lavi looked away, knowing that his disbelief was rooted to last nights events.

"Allen.. I can say with absolutely certainty that Kanda likes you. "

"Sure, he might be an arrogant, antisocial, soba-eating samurai whose head is filled with bricks,"

Allen opened his mouth to object to that unfair statement, but Lavi continued, "But he would have never gone out of his way to take care of somebody that he doesn't like."

"He's gone to your house, stayed over, taken care of you, gotten mad at you, worried about you, dragged you over here, danced with you, and kissed you. Does Kanda strike you as a guy who does that to just anyone?"

Put that way, Allen was forced to concede.

"Don't let what Kanda said affect you. Give him a chance to make it up to you, if you still feel that way. Kanda is a man of his actions then his words anyways."

"And besides.. You were going to stick up for him, weren't you? You're pretty far gone for him already." Lavi was teasing the younger boy, recognizing that his two friends were in love with each other. He was happy for them, really.

"And besides," Lenalee pointed Allen in Kanda's direction, "He's sulking because we interrupted you." Kanda certainly looked darker than usual, his brows furrowed in as he looked to be reluctantly conversing with Tyki.

--

"Was it your idea to spy on us?" Kanda snarled, not surprised if it was.

"I'd love to take credit for that, but surprisingly, that little Lenalee suggested it." An amused smile, and an exhalation of smoke.

"Besides," Tyki paused to tap his cigarette against a stray ash tray, "I have my own hands full with a certain rabbit. He's been a bit.. How should I say this? Worried? About your development with Allen over there. Interfering with your little relationship can wait until later."

Kanda glanced over at Lavi, who seemed to be immersed in conversation with Allen. "As long as it keeps that rabbit off my back, I could care less."

"That could be arranged."

A silent agreement passed between the two.

--

The five of them agreed to go out (much to Kanda's reluctance, but it seemed like they were here to stay) and have some fun. Especially since Allen had no reason to leave now, and they rarely had an opportunity to go out.

And so, they had decided to go to the shopping district, where food stands and stores populated the area with cheap but quality items.

And while they visited the stores around them, Kanda had yet to get an alone moment with Allen, with everyone crowding him.

"Hey, Lavi.= - didn't you say you wanted to go into a book store?" Tyki Mikk pointed in the direction, Lavi's eye gleaming at the prospect of new books. "Give me a sec, Allen!" Tyki followed.

"Would it be all right if I looked at some of those clothes?" Lenalee looked to Allen.

Once, there was five. Then, there were two.

Allen ducked around the corner, Kanda was following him out of pure instinct now. "Kanda."

Hm? They were in an empty alleyway. What was here for Allen? A hidden food stand? The male turned around, his eyes widening, as Allen leaned up press a kiss against Kanda's lips.

"That's my answer."

His fustration, and annoyance that had accumulated over the day was suddenly forgotten. A grin curved over Kanda's face, murmuring, "That isn't the right way, Moyashi." His fingers intertwined with Allen's hair, bringing him up to press a deeper kiss, his tongue probing his mouth, not allowing him to escape for a second.

There were always happy endings.


	12. On the Sidelines

I'm pausing on Yullen for a moment to introduce Lucky, although I'm sure you all saw this coming xDDD!

* * *

Lavi walked into a musty book store, the sound of the bells at the door drew out an elderly man. Small round glasses perched on the bridge of his nose, making him look like a Grandpa out of a fairytale like Momotarou, and the Peach Boy. "Do you need any help?" He asked in his frail voice, to which Lavi shook his head. "I'll look around, thanks."

As he browsed the shelves, in a matter of seconds, he already had a pile of books nestled into his arms. Cheap prices (although price was of no consequence to him) and the wide assortment of books was like heaven to the bookman junior.

"I can see that you enjoy books." The elderly man chuckled, to which Lavi replied, "Of course! And these books have been almost non-existent..!" Lavi had searched through a new shelf, the sentence broke off, as Lavi spotted another novel. It was at the very top of the shelf, Lavi jumping unsuccessfully to reach it. One more jump, and he almost had it .. The tips of his finger brushed it. But his jump had put him off center, as the boy threatened to fall backwards-

"Whoa, whoa!" Tyki's voice interrupted, as he caught the boy before he fell. "This book?" He plucked the book as easily as one might have eaten a piece of candy. Was it Lavi's imagination, or did Tyki's arm nestle around Lavi's waist longer then needed? But then Tyki released him, and handed the book over. "Be careful."

"Are you sure that you shouldn't come back another day?" A sardonic brow raised in response to the towering stack in Lavi's arm. "Just a bit more." Lavi held up a hand, and advanced on to another section. He picked out several (the definition of several varied, in Lavi's case it meant another pile equal to the first one) more books, and finally settled all of it onto the counter. Overall, the total was nearly as much as Lavi's height.

"Your total is .." Lavi pulled out ten one hundred dollar bills, well over the total. "Keep the change. I'll be back." And he hummed happily, even if he had a shitload to carry. He picked up one bag, and reached for the other only to have Tyki snatch it away. "That's a lot to carry, boy."

"Let me get you an extra bag just in case." The old man nodded, and went into the back. Lavi leaned against the counter, finally wondering why Tyki had bothered to come in after him. Tyki wasn't a known lover of books, that was for sure. Tyki set aside the bag, and casually entrapped the younger boy by putting both hands on either side of him. He wasn't touching him, but he wasn't letting him escape.

Lavi shivered, to which Tyki inquired, "Cold?"

"No-" He realized his mistake, and quickly amended it to "Yes." But Tyki had caught the slip. "Lavi, I've already made my intentions obvious. I know you're not as obtuse as you pretend to be."

Lavi wondered how to answer that, licking his lips nervously,

"Here is your bag." Lavi used this opportunity to push Tyki, and retrieve his bag. "Thanks. I'll see you again!" He picked up his half of the bags, and went outside of the door. Tyki merely waved to elderly man, and left.

"Where did Kanda and Allen go?" He looked around for them, and spotted them. "Yo, Kanda! And Allen."

"Shh." Lenalee was near them as well, but she was out of sight as she pulled Lavi and motioned Tyki over to the side. "They're making out." Lavi had a grin, Allen deserved it.

He let it go for a few minutes longer, before stepping in. "Let's break it up, guys!"

"Are we all finished with shopping? He moved onto the next topic, leaving Allen blushing.

Lenalee and Allen nodded, while Kanda and Tyki hadn't really cared. "I'll call my chauffeur then, he should be here shortly."

There was some conversation, about clothing, about Allen's job, school, and things that Lavi remembered contributing to. But the bookman's mind wasn't really involved in the conversations.

The chauffeur dropped each of them off, and unfortunately, Tyki was the last person to be dropped off.

His piercing gaze seemed to stare through Lavi and the façade he had up, which was particularly unnerving for a person who was used to looking through other people's facades. He pulled out his phone, and scrolled through his contacts list. Maybe talking to someone else would alleviate this abnormal silence between the two of them.

He was in the middle of the O section, when the phone was snatched from his hand. "I'm not letting you run away, boy." He held up the phone, before tossing on the other side of the car. "Hey!" Lavi protested, to be cut short by Tyki's stare.

"What is it? The age difference? My job?"

Lavi assumed a bored stance, looking out at the passing sights. "All of them. Besides, I'm a guy. Isn't it natural that I would be attracted to girls?"

"That isn't it." Tyki smirked, looking far more confident then he should have. "I know you enjoyed that kiss. You melted like putty in my hands." A dark toned finger brushed lightly down his face, Lavi suppressing his shiver.

"So, what is it?"

"I'm not interested in you. That is it, in the simplest words that I think even you can comprehend."

Tyki stared at him, still not believing it. There was something else. Something else, that Tyki had finally figured out after seeing the male's interactions. "You don't want to get involved, is that it?"

"What are you talking about? I'm the student council prez, I just held a countless party for the entire grade, as well as 'helping' Allen and Kanda along. I would say that's pretty involved."

"It's the distance, boy. Each and every time, it seems as if you separate a piece of yourself, Almost if you're recording the moment as a bystander, rather than the person you really are."

"Lavi." He lowered his voice, sounding as if he cared for the young male. "Who are you? Who do you _really _want to be?"

The question voiced Lavi's most inner concerns, still reeling from Tyki's uncanny, accurate observation. "It-it's not like that."

In all honesty, he hadn't thought he would become friends with Kanda, Lenalee, or Allen. He had run for student council president as a joke proposed by one of his friends. But when he had actually won, he was faced with an overwhelming sense of being 'Lavi'. It wasn't that he couldn't handle the work, but rather, something else.

And when he saw Kanda? He thought it would be fun to get beneath that impassive act that Kanda had always put up. His reactions had always been so amusing, when Lavi could see through them. With Lenalee, he was interested to see the girl who the Chemistry teacher had the infamous sister complex over. It was merely a matter of seeing them as the days passed by, and before Lavi knew it, somehow, by coincidence they had all become "friends." And with each passing day, he could no longer distinguish if his smile was really "fake" or "real."

Allen and Tyki had come into the picture as well, and in the space of a few days, they had jarred his already unstable reality into something he no longer knew or felt had had a grasp of.

"Give me time." Lavi needed to sort this out, needing to be alone.

"I'm afraid I can't do that, boy. I'm quite impatient when it comes to getting what I want." Tykiheld the boy closer to him, holding him instead of advancing on him.

"It's fairly simple. Do you like me, or not?"

"Like is a vast word, that encompasses a number of different meanings."

Tyki chuckled at the boy's attempt to evade things. "Let's make it simple. Do I make your heart beat? Are you getting nervous? Do you like it when I kiss you? And.. Do you want more?" There was almost a conceited look on his face, smirking down at Lavi.

Lavi slumped down, pulling down his usual headband until it had settled around his neck, his hair falling over his face. There was am embarrassed look to the bookman that was positively _adorable, as he muttered an answer._

"What was that, boy?"

"…yes."


	13. Ending

I'm probably not going to continue this story.. wah.. it hadn't been updated for so long! But here's the last chapter for all you people who love this story! I hope you enjoyed it, and I hope you appreciate the end and what Yullen's gone through!

Review please?

In the following school days after the sleepover, Allen found himself with increasingly more and more free time. He was beginning to grasp his studies, and time-managed well enough to catch a brief break between school and his classes.

And ever since they had confessed their love to each other, Kanda's presence had grown in his life. Sometimes, Kanda would be waiting outside of his class. At other times, he would drive Allen to his job. That, and they saw each other more as Lavi began to call Allen in to run small errands for the student council. It might have been a passing glance, a curt greeting, but Allen was willing to take what he could.

Allen had just been sent off to pick up some paperwork from the teachers, leaving Lavi and Kanda inside the student council room by themselves. Both of them worked in silence, Lavi sitting at his desk looking over some meaningless paperwork. Kanda was sorting out the finished documents, ready to file them. "Hey~ How far have you gotten with Allen?" Lavi asked out of nowhere to the stoic samurai, in the middle of filing his papers. The papers dropped, "What are you asking, you baka-usagi?" Kanda said in a disgusted tone. "So you have gotten somewhere? Fourth base?" Lavi continued with a lazy smile, his green eye looking amused.

"It's none of your business." Kanda denied, although memories of their interrupted rendezvous flickered through his mind. He hadn't progressed any further since the day, trying to figure out the best way he could treat Allen.

"Say.. Kanda.." Lavi took a different tack, although he didn't deviate from the main point at hand. "How big are you?" The question was asked so nonchalantly that Kanda nearly fell down. "You damn usagi.. Do you have no shame?" He snarled, picking up Lavi by his collar.

"Well, Allen's is the one taking it up his ass, right?" Kanda sent him a glare, if glares could kill..

"Hey, don't look at me like that! I'm not bookman's son for nothing. Sex between two guys aren't a big secret." Well, that was a half lie on Lavi's part. You could say that he knew that from his and Tyki's relationship.

Kanda let go, much too tired to deal with Lavi at the moment. "If you're frustrated, talk to Ihim/I." And he tossed Lavi aside, hitting it straight on the point. "If I could, I would." Lavi muttered off to the side, looking away. However, he didn't give up, picking himself up to follow the samurai. "Hey Kan-da..!"The last part was a result of him tripping over the left over papers on the ground, landing against Kanda. In turn, Kanda slipped, "Agh!" Kanda let out a sound of surprise, before they both (thankfully) landed on the couch. Kanda had landed on the couch, with Lavi sprawled over him. "You stupid..!" Kanda gritted his teeth, ready to chew out the president. He wouldn't have minded Allen in this position… but that stupid rabbit was a different story.

"Oh.. Perfect." Lavi grinned. He groped over Kanda's chest and abdomen, his hands sliding to Kanda's pants. He lifted Kanda's shirt and began to undo his belt. "H-Hey!" Kanda protested, trying to shove him off. Lavi was persistent, intent on seeing how big his best friend was. After all.. Kanda never shared information like that.

"…" Lavi looked down to his best friend, having no words. "You have your job cut out for you, don't you?"

"So do you." A new voice emerged, both Lavi and Kanda's gaze quickly glancing at the origins. Tyki was standing in the doorway, one arm leaning on the frame to stare at the two males with a skeptical look. Next to Tyki was Allen, holding the stack of papers that Lavi had sent him for. They were both staring at Kanda and Lavi .. Mostly at Kanda's open pants. "Lavi.." Allen said with a dark look, walking forward to setting the papers aside. "Shall I teach you a lesson?" His mutated hand was curled into a fist, punching his other hand with a smile that didn't resemble a smile.

"Your personality changes quickly, doesn't it Allen?" Lavi asked nervously, sweat drops evident.

"Hey. Don't abuse him yet." Tyki pulled Allen by the collar backwards. "Let me handle this."

He walked towards Lavi, [I]"Waaah!"[/I] pulling him off the annoyed samurai. The cry had come from Lavi who hadn't expected it. "What do you think you're doing?" Tyki had asked as soon as Lavi was within hearing distance.

"Well.." Lavi tried to grin at his lover, "I was checking out Kanda, y'know.."

"Ah. I'm seeing that I'm not giving you enough attention. Is that it?" He asked in a suggestive tone. With no further ado, his hands grasped Lavi around the abdomen. He actually wanted to molest the boy right there.. But he looked at Allen and Kanda with one final glance. "Your president is officially done for the day."

"What?" Lavi said in an outburst, his green eyes widening. "I still have Tyki proceeded to drag him out of the room, clearing in a rush.

"Finally, that stupid president is gone." Kanda aggravated sighed in the commotion. Allen now looked annoyed, refusing to answer the samurai.

"It wasn't my fault." He tried to calm down his boyfriend. He was answered with a grudging silence.

"Don't tell me you're jealous of that dumb bunny?" Kanda slid a glance towards Allen, his facial expression of irony and reluctant amusement.

"Hardly!" Allen denied, turning away so that Kanda couldn't see his face. After all, how would one in a relationship _normally _feel when they saw their boyfriend being molested? Especially by his best friend, who seemed to have much better relations with him then Allen did? Yeah, that went over well - didn't it?

Allen's rational side told him that there was nothing to worry about. After all, Lavi had just exposed his relationship with Tyki (Not that it wasn't obvious from their kiss at the party) but his emotions had yet to calm down.

Did Kanda want Lavi? He hadn't approached him since that time when they had been interrupted by Lavi, Lenalee, and Tyki. In fact.. Now that Allen thought about it, he had been impersonal for some time now. Allen thought it was just due to Kanda's nature .. But he hadn't even kissed him goodnight.

"I have some work to do." Allen tried to avoid the issue, turning to go to the doorway.

"Not so quickly." Kanda growled, wrapping a round around Allen's waist, "Wha-? Allen said in surprise as Kanda pulled him back onto the couch, where Allen had been thrown into Kanda's lap.

"Then what's wrong?" Kanda spoke into Allen's ear, his breath tickling the younger male's ear. "N-nothing." Allen resisted, was this called pouting?

"Really?" Kanda wasn't believing a word of it, if that wasn't obvious from his tone. He nipped at Allen's ear with his nearly canine teeth. "I wasn't going anything with that stupid Rabbit." He tried to reassure his boyfriend once more.

"…."

".. I know." Allen finally answered.

"Then what's the problem?" Kanda asked, impatience edging into his voice.

"It's because.." Allen paused, Kanda's hand taking hold of Allen's chin to force him to say it. "No words, Moyashi? I'm surprised." That was a deliberate taunt on his part, Kanda wasn't above being a bit cruel to Allen. After all, it was in his personality.

"It's because you don't act that way with me." Allen admitted reluctantly.

"What?" That was Kanda's way for asking for clarification. What way? Was he supposed to act some way with Lavi and Allen?

"."

"Wait, what?" Now Kanda clearly couldn't understand. Who would with that mumbled jumble of words? "Say it right Moyashi."

"You haven't done anything with me since that night!" Allen finally admitted, his voice ringing out in the room. Once he realized what he said, he clasped his handover his mouth. "I-I.. didn't.. mean that."

But Kanda had gotten the message, loud and clear. "Is that so?" He stood up, causing Allen to fall off his lap and onto the couch. "So.. Is the little bean sprout horny?" He trapped Allen by putting both hands on either side of him, hovering over him with his extremely manly body, despite the somewhat feminine appearance given by his long hair and Japanese features.

"T-that's not..!" Allen protested, "And here I was trying to hold myself back." For the first time in his life, Kanda had tried to be considerate. "It's not like that! I just don't know if you even want to be with me, or if you want to be with somebody else .. Because you want to do ..that..with them." Allen looked away, refusing to look at Kanda. His entire face was flushed red. He was extremely shy when it came to that particular word.

"You don't have to worry about that, Moyashi." Kanda's feral smirk hadn't disappeared. "I'll lay all your doubts to rest. "And I'll enjoy doing so. I hope you're not expecting to do anything this weekend?" He was already unbutton Allen's shirt, and Allen looked on with an expression that asked _You don't mean that, do you?_

"Let me demonstrate exactly how much I love you." Kanda pulled at the tie on his uniform, while his other hand slipped beneath Allen's pants, his longer, calloused fingers already encircling the slight bulge in Allen's pants.

"After all, that's what you want, right?" Kanda whispered seductively into his bean sprouts ear.

Allen wouldn't have any doubts that weekend. Nor would he be able to walk for three days afterwards.

Epilogue:

"That's what you wanted, right?" Allen was putting on his shirt, while Allen laid exhausted, naked on the couch. Well, not completely naked as a coat strawn over him covered the most essential spots.

"Where do you think Tyki and Lavi went?"

Kanda thought about it. ".. Don't worry about it." He told Allen, he couldn't care less. Although he had to admit that things had turned out well because of him. Not that he would ever admit it to Lavi, or he would never hear the end of it.

"But do you think we caused any problems for them? Allen asked, still worried for his friend's romance.

"Don't worry. If anything, Tyki will have resolved everything by then."

"Oh, talking about me?" Tyki appeared in the doorway, with his cigarette in his mouth. It was already late at school by then, Allen looked up surprised. "Shouldn't you have gone home already?"

"Well, yeah, I will. But I needed to pick up his stuff." His referred to Lavi.

"Where is Lavi?" Allen asked curiously. Tyki nudged the door wider, revealing the president slung over his shoulder. Allen looked shocked. "Don't fret too much, boy." Tyki strolled over, having no problem with the additional weight. He picked up Lavi's bag, and was walking out of the door when he turned back.

"He's no worse off then you after all." He let his gaze purposely trail over Allen, Allen looking down to follow his gaze. It was just then Allen realized his nakedness, the obvious hickeys that Kanda had left behind, and wrapped the jacket around himself in a rush. Tyki's laughter followed his leave, having fun teasing them.


End file.
